Love Under a Blood Moon
by MsRahvin79
Summary: What happens if Edward never comes back for Bella in New Moon. Jasper leaves the family to search for her but she is missing. How will the Cullens react to a summons to Volterra only to be confronted by the girl they left behind. Will Bella get her happy ever after by going back to Edward or will she follow the pull to her heart's desire?
1. Ghost

Ok guys, this is my first Twilight fanfic so be kind. This is how I would have liked to see things go after the big break up in New Moon. Even in the books I was a huge Jasper fan and now I am taking the leap of writing my own pairings and there will be a few OCs just to spice things up. I know we all have our fav pairings for this series and I have to admit, I am not an Edward fan so there is not much hope that Edward will be favorably portrayed in this fanfic, so if you can't handle that, this is not the story for you.

This is rated M for language and future lemons.

In the morning when the sun breaks free

A reflection that I know I've seen

In the night it's haunting me

A lonely ghost, a lonely ghost

Ever since I was just a child

I've seen the visions in my sleep

Of a man roaming through the wild

With all these ghosts, a lonely ghost

But you can't breathe in if you don't breathe out

'Cuz it's a new day, we're gonna go far

Knuckle down, trim and shake off the dead weight

You know what they say

You can't hide from your ghosts

'Cuz it's a new day, I wanna go far

Break it down, jump the gun, find a new way

You know what they say

I'm stuck here living with all these ghosts, a lonely ghost

**Unknown POV**

"Aro, it's been 10 years. I have kept my promise, now bring them here."

**JPOV**

I had found myself a well secluded meadow, far enough away from notice and all I wanted to do was just sit and think. Moving to the center of the meadow, I laid down and looked up to the sky, watching the clouds float past and soaking up the sun. I couldn't even begin to recall the last time I had been able to relax like this. Definitely not a common occurrence in the past.

I felt a growl start as I let my mind drift with the clouds, I thought back over the past 10 or so years and how much my life had changed. This was a rarity as thinking back to that time usual gave me a headache and that was hard to do to a vampire. Our little family had been as happy as can be expected for a bunch of immortals. My first taste of what family should be like and I owe that all to the little pixie. When I found Alice, she had told me that we would meet up with the Cullens and they would help me adjust to my new immortal life, well outside of the wars that is.

Life with the Cullens had started out hard for me but by the time we moved to Forks I had better control over my thirst than they knew or were willing to acknowledge. I was used to their worry about me slipping and could only hope that they would eventually get over it. None of us knew what was going to happen when we moved to Forks. I certainly wasn't expecting anything, but I bet that little pixie did. I never did ask her about that, interesting.

I tried not to think about the time we spent in Forks, Edward and his stupidity and the hell we put Bella through. No one should be toyed with like that. After what happened at her birthday party, Edward forced us to leave Forks, leave Bella behind. I knew what that was going to do to her, but no one listened to me. I was out voted and Alice dragged me with her and the rest of the family to Alaska. The longer we were there, the more guilt riddled I became over how we had treated Bella. We had accepted her into our family and then just left her behind at the orders of a spoiled brat.

Edward laid down the law once we got there, no one was to make any attempts to look in on Bella or go back to Forks. He claimed he was doing it to protect her from our world, but I was paying close attention to his emotions back then and I knew he was lying to us. I just didn't know what the truth was behind the sudden move. The stress of what we had done only seemed to affect me. Alice was fine following Edward wherever he told her to go, secretly I thought she wanted to be with him and not me, but she kept her emotions under control when he was around. Carlisle and Esme were always willing to follow Edward like the doting parents they were. Edward could do no wrong in their eyes.

Rose and Emmett were easily swayed as long as they got to be together, that and Rose didn't want Bella in our world. I knew Rose's real reasons for being such a bitch to Bella, but I never confronted her on them. She knew that I understood and that was enough. She didn't want Bella to give up life and its many possibilities to be frozen in place for all eternity. Emmett did anything he could to keep his Rose happy even though leaving Bella behind broke his big bear of a heart. He loved his little sister and I truly think that he was the most affected by leaving her behind. He had put up the biggest fight over leaving her too, well biggest if you took me out of the picture.

The shock on everyone's faces when I stood up to Edward and told him he was being a selfish prick and that he couldn't just make us all abandon Bella. He claimed he was doing it for Bella and that it was in her best interest if we all left her alone. I watched his emotions and when he made that comment he had been feeling excitement mixed with sorrow which really threw me for a loop. He was acting as if he was really upset about leaving her behind, but emotionally he wasn't matching up to his words. Once he forced us all to Alaska to visit our cousins in Denali, I kept my distance from him and most of the family too. Alice was the only one I would interact with, she felt bad about leaving Bella, but she was glad to follow Edward if that made him happy.

That was when I started to wonder if we were really mates or if we were only together for convenience and companionship. The more I thought about it the more it seemed to fit. We were nothing like Rose and Em or even Carlisle and Esme. We did everything that normal couples did, but it just didn't feel the same as what the others projected emotionally. It was starting to feel forced.

Not long after we left, I started to feel really bad about what we had done to Bella and started thinking about checking on her, which was expressly forbidden by the high and mighty Edward. It never failed to start a fight if he was around when I started thinking about what we did to her. He would always yell at me, telling me to forget about her and would then say it was entirely my fault that we left. I knew what he was talking about. He knew exactly what was going on at the birthday party as he could read my mind, but he insisted otherwise. I am not sure why, but he felt the need for the family to think of me as the weak willed bad guy.

I was still watching the clouds float by above me and was lost in thought, thinking back over the last time I saw Bella. It was her at her birthday party that went disastrously wrong. Even after she saw the blood lust strike the vampires around her, she looked at me with a calmness that still confused me. She had given me such a look of trust and faith and that is when I lunged forward to be held back. Thinking back on that nightmare, I could only think over how she had always reacted to being in our world.

Ever since she came to Forks, I had always been intrigued by her emotions. She never felt what you expected from a normal human and she was always shocking me. The fact that I could sense her emotions and affect them always drove Edward insane, but I had pretty much figured out what Bella was doing from the get go, which I chalked up to dealing with so many vampires and newborns in my first century as a vampire. I just made sure to keep those thoughts hidden.

If turned, Bella would be a very powerful shield, but the type of shield would not be fully known until she was turned. From my past experience, a shield either had a mental or physical aspect, which Bella appeared to have the mental shield as she had blocked Edward from reading her thoughts since he first saw her in the cafeteria. Most shields also had at least one other secondary ability and I was intrigued to find out what else our Bella could do.

I had to admit, I was jealous of her shield. It got to be very tiring to have to control my thoughts to keep anything private. After a while I learned how to keep Edward out of my head. Whenever I wanted mental privacy when he was around, all I had to do was to think back on my time in the Southern Vampire Wars. Edward was instantly disgusted by my memories as he knew that if needed, what they call the Major, the more instinctual, animalistic side of me, would surface. Alice was the same way, anything that I did that reminded her that I was from the south drove her crazy and I slowly tucked that part of me away. I was always made to feel ashamed of my past, like it was something they were always afraid would repeat itself given the chance.

Guess I should have known what was coming, but I was just as blindsided as everyone else.

It wasn't long after we moved from Forks that the shit hit the fan, well not long for an immortal. A year for us flies by like a month does to a human. I am not one that can idly sit by and do nothing when I know that someone I care about is being wronged, and that is what the Cullens were doing to Bella. Edward refused to speak of her and would fly into a rage if we even thought of mentioning her. Anytime one of us, either Emmett or I, would corner Edward to try to get him to see reason, Alice would be there to defend him. At first I was hurt by her actions. She claimed to be Bella's best friend and she was my wife, yet she fully sided with Edward that leaving her was the smart thing to do.

The longer we were in Alaska the worse it got until one day I just snapped. I had just cornered Edward hoping to get him to be ok with me checking in on Bella. We had been away from her for over a year and I had this feeling that something bad had happened to her and I couldn't shake it. Without a conscious effort, the argument replayed in my brain as I stared at the sky.

"Edward, would you listen to me for just a damn second. Something is wrong, I can feel it. If you won't check on her then let me." I pleaded, trying to stay calm.

Edward growled at me. "Drop it Jasper. I said no one is to go anywhere near her. We left her so that she would live her life as she was meant to. No more interference from the supernatural."

I slowly started to send him a feeling of calm, hoping that might help.

He shrugged it off with another growl. "Stop it! You cannot force me to change my mind."

"I don't know why you are so against us checking on her. You gave her up; she is nothing to you anymore." I yelled back. By now the whole family had come to see what the fight was about. "You are not the leader of this family so why do you think we should all bow down and do what you say? Huh? Why is it that everyone is so afraid to go against your wishes? Tell me pretty boy."

"Jasper, they know what I said was the truth. We were ruining her life. She was constantly in danger with us around."

"Boys…" Carlisle started but was cut off by Alice's snarl.

I ignored her snarl, continuing to attack Edward. "You told her and everyone who would listen that she was your mate and that you waited decades for her. If she was your mate you wouldn't be able to so callously leave her. Let's prove my point. Emmett, do me a favor?"

"Sure, Jazz." Emmett took a few steps into the room.

"I want you to imagine leaving Rosalie behind and not coming back to her. Truly get yourself in the mindset that you will never see her again."

Emmett gave me a pained look, but did as I asked. We all watched as he closed his eyes and I could sense his emotions start to swirl. First there was determination, then the sorrow and grief took over. Right as he was starting to feel the depression of being without his mate start to set in, Rose stepped up to him at my nod.

"I'm right here, Emmett. I know you aren't going to leave me." Rose put her arms around him.

Emmett sighed as he relaxed into his mate's arms. "That what you needed, Jazz?"

"Yes, Emmett, sorry to put you through that, but that just made my point." I looked back at Edward. "Everyone felt what Emmett did, I shared it with them and I know you could read his mind. I can only imagine what he was thinking to do as I asked. My question to you Eddie boy is why did I not feel anything like that from you when we left Bella behind? She is your mate isn't she?"

Edward squared his shoulders, ready to come back at me again with more lies when Alice interrupted us, coming to his rescue yet again.

"Jasper, why do you continue to push this Bella thing? You know we need to stay out of her life. Her life was in danger the longer we allowed her to stay in our world." Alice moved to stand by Edward's side, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "You almost attacked her if you remember correctly. That is the main reason why we left."

I snarled at her. "You think that little of me? Am I that much of a monster in your eyes? Even after all our time together you still think the worst?"

"Yes, Jasper, I do. Only a monster would attack a family member like you did."

I heard the bitterness in her words and saw the same emotion echoed on her face. I knew that I should be seeing red with how she was defending him, against me no less, but I was done, this was just the final straw. With a growl I picked up a chair and threw it across the room, smiling with satisfaction as it broke against the wall causing everyone to jump. I might as well act like the monster they all thought I was as there was no point in trying to prove myself any longer. "That's it. I'm done!"

I turned my back and started to walk towards the room Alice and I shared.

Carlisle stepped in front of me with his hands up. "Jasper, can we talk about this? I know you're upset, but I know we can work this out."

"I'm sorry, Carlisle, but not this time." I sighed; weary of this argument that never ends. "You all want to cater to his royal highness and I refuse to bow down to a spoiled brat. If you all want to stay here and let Edward run your lives, please do, but I can't anymore. I **cannot** handle the gauntlet of emotions that bombard me every minute of every day that I am in this house any more. I have been forced into hiding the real me as you all fear that I will still slip and kill someone or the Major will come out, or I will just show my country roots too much."

Esme let out a sob as she realized that I really meant it this time. "Jasper, please don't go."

I walked over to her and gave her a loving hug, no matter how she felt about Edward she was still the closest thing to a mother I had in this life. "Esme, I know that Edward is your first son and I know you and Carlisle would do anything for your children. I just cannot stand to be around Edward anymore, especially when everyone else caters to his every whim, afraid to hurt his feelings. I love you, Esme, and I am glad to call you mom, but I have to go."

"I know, Jasper. I just wish you didn't feel the need to leave. I will miss you." Esme placed a kiss on my cheek before stepping back into Carlisle's arms.

I blocked off all of the emotions around me as I turned back to my room. Once I got to the room I shared with Alice, I pulled out my duffle and started filling it with my clothes. I pulled out the few pairs of non-designer jeans and some shirts that were closer to what I liked. Before packing anything else, I quickly changed into clothes that better suited me. I donned a pair of worn Levi's and a white t-shirt quickly followed by a long sleeved red button down. Just to smite Alice I rolled the sleeves up to my elbows showing off my scars. I had hidden all of them away in my dresser along with my boots. I was just pulling on my cowboy boots as I heard her walk into the room. Quickly I closed up the bag, glancing around the room for anything that I would need in the immediate future.

"Box my things up and ship them down to Peter. He will hold on to them for me until I find a place of my own. If you won't do it then have Emmett." I told Alice without turning around.

"Why are you doing this, Jasper? Why are you leaving me?"

Turning around, I saw her standing in the doorway, trying to look sad, but her emotions gave her away. "After all this time, you still can't lie to me, Alice, not with your emotions. You are happy to see me go and I know why. With me here you can't be with Edward."

Alice let out an indignant gasp. "I don't know what you're talking about. You're the one I want to be with, you're my husband."

"Not for much longer." I cut her off. "I will get Jenks to draw up the divorce papers and send them to you. Just do me the courtesy after all these years to not fight me. You have been drifting further away from me over the past year and now you will be free to cater to Edward's every whim."

I picked up my bag, snatched my keys off the dresser and walked out of the room. Everyone was still in the living room and I walked over to Emmett and Rose. I was going to miss them the most, Rose was like a sister to me and Emmett was just like the fun loving brother I missed in Peter. Hopefully this wouldn't be a final parting with them.

"Emmett, you can have the Harley. Keep her safe for me." I tossed him the keys to my bike as I ducked Rose's punch. "He is indestructible Rose; let him have some fun with it."

A loud screech snapped me out of my memories and back to the meadow where I laid, still staring up at the sky, now looking for the source of the screech. I sighed as I watched a hawk fly overhead, remembering just how hard it was that day to leave my family and to strike out on my own again. When I joined the Cullens I thought I had found my home, but all it took was one human and a spoiled vampire to disrupt my dreams. Looking around the meadow, I could feel something brewing in the air. If I would have still been human I would have shivered. Sitting up I looked back at the sky trying to push away the sense of dread that was trying to wrap itself around me.

I didn't want to keep going down memory lane, as it was heart breaking, but I knew it wasn't going to let me go now that I had started the painful journey. I had failed Bella and I didn't realize how much I had failed her until it was too late. After leaving the Cullens, I had driven back to Forks just to check on Bella. I had wanted to see with my own eyes that she was fine and that I was just being paranoid. I had no clue what was waiting for me, but I was in for a shock and not just one, but many. Letting my mind drift as it wanted, I acquiesced to the memory's power flooding my mind, lying back down on the grass, I closed my eyes.

I had pulled into Forks late that night and I didn't even bother stopping by the house to drop off my stuff. There was no need; I wasn't going to be there long. I just wanted to do a quick check on Bella and then maybe head out to find Peter and Charlotte. Thanks to Alice, I hadn't seen my brother and sister in decades and that hurt. Now that I was free of her, it was high time that I got back to my roots and stop acting like something I am not. Deciding that was a relief as I had never quite enjoyed being Alice's dress up Ken doll, add to that the constant worry they all had that I would slip up and cheat on our diet, that stress alone would have done me in if I wasn't already dead.

Anxious to make sure that Bella was ok, I parked on the side of the road, a few houses down the road from her house, watching for movement. There were no lights on and Chief Swan's cruiser was in the driveway, no sound reached me from the house. Looking at the dash, I saw that it was almost midnight, so everyone in the house should be asleep. Opening the door, I got out of the car and darted forward to the edge of the property, just inside the tree line. Listening, I heard only one heartbeat accompanied by a light snoring. So Charlie was home, but there should have been another heartbeat. Maybe Bella was out with friends; I thought to myself, it was a Friday night after all.

I decided that I would check out her room just to see if I could get a grasp of how she was doing. Glancing around the house, I could only sense Charlie, so I ran to the house and looked up at Bella's window, remembering that it used to always be open in invitation for any of us to come and hang out. Now the window was closed, so I moved to the front door. Picking the lock, I moved into the house quietly and stood in the entryway listening. Still only the one heartbeat sounded from upstairs and my earlier sense of dread settled over me again, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up.

Quietly, I made my way upstairs and stopped just outside of Bella's door, noticing just how empty the house felt. Taking an unnecessary breath, I opened the door and stepped into her room. Stopping just inside the doorway, I couldn't believe what I was seeing and smelling, or not smelling. The room showed no traces that Bella had been there in months. Being a senior in high school she should still be living here with Charlie. Moving further into the room, I hoped to find traces of her scent, but all I smelled was a dusty emptiness that clung to the air, giving it a stale taste. Suddenly I was standing by her window and looking out into the night, not fully comprehending that I had moved and I saw movement down below. Just at the edge of the property, in the same trees I had hid behind earlier, a pair of golden brown eyes stared at the house and I heard a deep growl drift its way to my ears.

Turning my back on the creature in the trees, as it had nothing to do with me; I moved to her bed and sat down. I picked up the pillow and held it to my nose, catching a very faint trace of freesia and something else that I couldn't quite catch. Putting the pillow back, I went back downstairs to see if I could discern where Bella may be. Maybe she had gone back to live with her mom and yet, even as I thought that I knew I was wrong. Bella would not have left Charlie or Forks on her own. I knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't leave on the hopes that she would see her second family again, regardless of what Edward had done or said before we left.

Looking around the living room, I saw absolutely nothing that would help my search. The room looked like a room used a lot, by Charlie. There wasn't a single sign in the room that Bella had been there recently and that started to really worry me. Moving into the kitchen, I saw a note on the fridge that looked old, it was from Bella and as I read the simple words my dead heart lurched in my chest.

_Dad,_

_ I love you and I'm sorry._

_ Love forever,_

_ Bells_

After reading that my sense of dread doubled. Would she have run away after we left her? From our few interactions, she did not seem to be the type to recklessly leave a loved one behind. I reread the note for the tenth time and as I sighed, I heard a bark and a whine come from just outside the back door. Walking to the door, I looked outside and saw a giant wolf standing there staring right at me. Guessing that this was the same creature I had seen from Bella's window, I went out the door. Sensing the creature's emotions, all I got was grief and annoyance, which the latter caused me to smile.

Stepping outside and closing the door behind me quietly, I walked past the wolf, confident that he wasn't there to attack me. Stopping just inside the tree line so that we couldn't be observed from the house or any random passersby on the road, I waited for the wolf to make the first move.

Silently the wolf moved further into the trees and then came back out shortly after, this time on two legs. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place him at first. I checked his emotions again and they were the same, but with an added flavor of disgust. As he walked closer, I was finally able to remember how I knew him and I knew that he would know what happened to Bella.

"Jacob, I wasn't expecting to find you here." I spoke quietly, not wanting to start a fight. "I see you have followed in your tribe's footsteps."

"Leech." Jacob spat as he stopped a few feet away. "I'm here keeping my promise to Bella and making sure none of you bloodsuckers hurt Charlie."

"Where is she, Jacob?" I asked and noticed a spark of sorrow filter into his emotions. "What happened to her?"

"You leeches are what happened to her. She was happy and enjoying life before your family ruined her." Jacob growled, clenching his fists tight at his sides. "What the hell are you doing here leech?"

I hung my head in grief, I could tell by his emotions that something bad had to have happened to Bella and I wasn't sure if I really wanted to know anymore. "I came here to check on her. I don't know what Edward said or did to her, but I know the rest of the family hurt her by leaving without saying goodbye. I don't expect you to believe me, but he forced us all to leave here and made everyone promise to leave Bella alone. I tried to get everyone to see reason, I was the only one that could explain to them Bella's emotions and how our leaving would affect her. I was out voted and forced to move."

"That doesn't tell me why you're here."

"I'm here because Edward has the family believing that I was the cause for Edward's choice to leave her, but I wasn't. It just made for an easy escape for him. I have worried about Bella since we left and finally left them to check on her. I need to apologize to her and make sure that she is ok." I lifted my head and caught a grimace on Jacob's face that matched his feeling of grief. "Why are you so sad? Tell me what happened."

Shock registered on Jacob's face and then recognition. "Oh, well, so it's you. I never expected you to come here, but she told me that you would be the one to check on her."

"Jacob, what are you talking about? Bella told you that I was coming? How? When?"

"She told me a couple of months after you guys left, once she was talking again that is. We started hanging out and she set the ground rules of whom and what we could or couldn't talk about. You and the big guy were the only ones she would talk about and the rest of them were no go's. If they got brought up she would wrap her arms around herself like she was holding herself together and leave. Needless to say I learned quickly to just keep my trap shut." Jacob turned to look at the house with longing and pain in his eyes. "She didn't tell me how she knew, just that she did."

So she would only talk about me and Emmett? That didn't make any sense. I mean I understood with Emmett, he was her big brother, but me? We never really talked. Except for one time when we were waiting on Edward and Alice to get their stuff for school. She said something and got me to laughing and I ended up poking her in the side to tickle her. She responded by throwing a couch pillow in my face. I had reminded her that I don't play fair and called her darlin' which of course showed my southern side. She stood still, shocked at my natural accent and then smiled. From that day on she never called me by name; it was always the nickname she gave me.

"Umm, earth to leech? Did I lose you?" Jacob waved his hand in front of my face.

"What?" I looked at him and his emotions told me he had been trying to get my attention for a bit. "Sorry, was lost in thought."

"Well, I don't want to drag this out any longer than needed. I am only talking to you to find out if you guys are moving back and to give you something."

"Huh?" Now I was totally confused. "No, everyone is still in Alaska, but I don't know their plans. I left them because of their easy acceptance of what we did to Bella. I couldn't be a part of a family that so easily left one of the members behind."

"Well that's good to know. We don't need you bloodsuckers to come back here ever."

I nodded; I didn't think they would have to worry about that any time soon. "Wait. You said you were here to give me something?"

Jacob looked down at the ground as he reached into his back pocket of his jean shorts. "I'm only doing this because I loved…love Bella and she made me promise."

I watched as he pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to me. I saw my name on the front of the envelope in her beautiful handwriting. Looking back up to Jacob, I saw curiosity in his eyes. "You don't know what's in here?"

He shook his head. "Another promise. I wasn't to open it or try to read it over your shoulder. I can only read it IF you let me."

I chuckled, opening the envelope. "That does sound like her."

Jacob watched quietly as I pulled out the letter and unfolded it. "Will you let me?"

My only response was a gasp as I started reading the letter written in her precise script.

_Howdy Cowboy,_

_ I knew you would be the one to come looking for me. I'm sure Emmett would have come, but we both know Rose would have stopped him. So that leaves you, cowboy. I'm sure __**he**__ (yes, I refuse to say his name) blamed you for everything and used that as an excuse to finally leave me. It wasn't your fault, I know what happened so stop beating yourself up over it. Please don't feel guilty, it wasn't your fault. I blame the rest of the family, not you._

_I also knew it was coming, there was no way that someone as perfect as __**him**__ or any of you really could love a clumsy, plain human like me. Now don't frown as I'm not there to see just how adorable that makes you look. After you all left and I stopped being a zombie, I forced myself to think and go back over my time with your family. You know how they say hindsight is always 20/20? Well, yeah, needless to say I was quite shocked by what I learned. _

_ Now I won't bother you with all of the little details, but I did learn that __**he**__ was not the one I was meant to be with. I had needed to be loved so badly that I let my need cloud my true feelings for __**him**__ and…well, __**he**__ wasn't the one, wasn't my mate as you guys called it. What really hurts is the time wasted on __**him**__ and finally realizing just who my mate is or was or whatever. I know I'm not making any sense and I'm sorry for that, Cowboy, my cowboy. I loved it when that side of you snuck out by the way. Between you, me and Jacob (yes, I fully acknowledge that you will let him read this. Hi Jake), Alice is stupid for not loving every side of you. That is what mates are supposed to do right? Love the other, all of the good with the bad?_

_ That is what I would have done with my mate, loved every bit of him and wouldn't have tried to change him. I think I actually kinda do already, but he will never know. Too many complications, too many roadblocks. Wow, look at me ramble. _

_Well, all of that is in the past and now my heart hurts not for losing __**him**__, but for never getting to be with the one I was supposed to be with for eternity. Guess that is the only bit I will tell you, I was supposed to be with a vampire. Carlisle told me once that I was born to become like you as I was already so much like you and only he seemed to notice it. But I know that I won't get that choice now. _

_ Ok so I will get to the point of this letter. Which if you are reading this I can only imagine that Jake kept to his promise and no one has seen me for a long time. That is why I wrote this, in case something happened to me. You know my luck or lack thereof when it comes to dangerous situations. List is short so far, but I'm sure it will grow. I mean I hung out with a family of bloodsuckers (that's for Jake), was bitten and broken by James, I'm just naturally a walking disaster, and then you add in Jake and the rest of the werewolf craziness…I just attract danger so I'm smart enough to acknowledge that my time is gonna be short. _

_ I'm not trying to be depressing, I just want you to understand that I do __**not**__ regret having met you and Emmett and the rest of the family, or any of my time spent in Forks. I need you and Jake to promise me that you will not look for me, as most likely I was made to disappear by becoming someone's snack and there won't be a point for you to search endlessly for me. I want you both to get on with your lives and not waste away from your worry or grief over me. Cowboy, you need to relay that to the family too. I don't care if you tell __**him**__; I will leave that up to you._

_ Tell Jake to go searching for his imprint and to have lots of kids and love life. He was my sun and now he needs to find his own._

_ Cowboy, my cowboy, how I wished your w…Alice would have let you shine in your southern roots. If you had been mine, I would have encouraged it, your southern drawl should have melted her on the spot. I bet you look amazing in a pair of boots and a Stetson and I am just sad that I won't get to see it. Umm…moving on now._

_Promise me that you won't do anything stupid, instead go be with your wi…family and Alice. Can you do that for me, cowboy? Please? Do I need to make it an order Major for you to follow? _

_ There is a part of me that hopes you never have to read this letter, but the rational and logical part of me knows that you will someday. So now that I have poured out my heart and cried all over the place, I think I should stop writing. Definitely before I say something that you may regret reading. My goal wasn't to make you feel bad or uncomfortable, so as I know you can't forget things, if something I said bothers you, just ignore it as the ramblings of a sad and pathetic human._

_I have already said my goodbyes to Jake and he promised to take care of Charlie for me. You, cowboy, I need you to take care of yourself and Emmett. You are my boys and I miss you both something fierce. Bet you never saw that coming thanks to our minimal interactions. Blame that on my soul searching and everything I learned about myself._

_ Jasper, my lo…my cowboy, take care of yourself and don't take crap from anyone. Please._

_I love you all very much._

_Forever yours, cowboy, in spirit at least,_

_Bella_

I think I read the letter ten times in under a minute, trying to understand everything she was trying to tell me. Thinking it over I decided to let Jacob read it, she did address him a few times so naturally it's what she wanted.

Jacob took the proffered letter and moved a few steps away to read it quietly. He let out a few gasps as he read the letter and a chuckle here and there. "She knew and she didn't tell me."

"What?" I asked, having been pulled from my thoughts.

Jacob turned to glare at me. "She knew she was going to die or disappear. Why wouldn't she tell me? I could have protected her; the pack could have protected her."

"I don't know, Jacob." I sighed and stared up through the trees. "You know as well as I do that Bella put others before herself and she probably thought she was protecting you by not telling you."

"Yeah, that was..is Bella. There were times I thought she did that just to irritate me." Jacob's shoulders slumped in grief. "She's really gone isn't she?"

Closing my eyes I let his grief roll over me. I knew he wouldn't welcome me messing with his emotions and this was something we both were going to have to get through. There was something nagging at my mind though, something she wrote in that letter. "How long has she been gone?"

"About four months."

"And you didn't find any…"

He cut me off with a snort. "No, there were no vampire scents that we didn't recognize around here and nothing else that would have made us worry. There were two vampires, one that we dealt with before she disappeared and one that showed up two months ago, so we know she isn't connected. She only came through here a few times and then disappeared."

"I wonder who they were." I thought out loud. "Hand me the letter."

Jacob passed it over to me. "Bella said the one we took care of was called Laurent. She was out walking in the woods and we happened on her at the right time, he was just about to kill her. That was how she learned about me and the wolf pack. I don't know who the red headed leech was though."

I looked up at him from the letter. "Laurent? I always wondered where he disappeared to. So he came here, to what, find Bella or did he just happen across her? Was he working for Victoria? Maybe that is why she came here herself, looking for Bella and to find out what happened to Laurent." I trailed off with my thoughts, glad that Laurent hadn't succeeded in killing Bella, but worried that Victoria had come sniffing around as well. She didn't show up till after Bella had vanished so that made me a bit more hopeful that Bella was still alive somewhere. But where?

"Earth to leech. You still with me?" Jacob was sending off vibes of anger and I could tell it was all aimed at me.

I focused on him and he sighed. "What Jacob?"

He started to pace back and forth in front of me, growling. "Who were those two you were talking about? Laurent and Victoria?"

I really didn't want to deal with that issue anymore, so I focused on the letter while I told him all about our initial meeting with James, Laurent and Victoria and everything that happened afterwards. As I talked I could sense fear and anger flowing off of him and then gratefulness when I told him about destroying James.

"So that's how she got that scar on her wrist. She never would tell me about it."

"Yeah, that's when we learned just how far she would go to protect those she loves." I sighed.

"He deserved far worse than he got." Jacob snarled as I went back over the letter. "So you think this Victoria chick is after Bella to get even for your killing James?"

"Well, that is what usually happens when we lose our mate. The pain is so great, we either find a way to join our mate or we seek revenge on the one that took them from us. At that point we become a single minded killing machine and will do anything in our power to reach our goal. When a vampire gets to that point, nothing will stop them short of death." I glanced back down at the letter; something was still bothering me about it. "It's not unlike if you were to lose your imprint, you would become an empty shell without your other half. You would live for your children, if you had any, but we don't have that option, Jacob. For us, its revenge and then death so that we can rejoin the missing piece of our soul."

"So should we assume that she got Bella?"

"No, if she came after Bella went missing then she was not part of it." Closing my eyes, I tried to clear my mind of this crap so I could focus on the letter.

"If it wasn't her…"

"Jacob, shut up for just a damn moment. I'm trying to think." I snapped. I was tired of him interrupting me. Focusing, I started to think out loud, trying to figure out her letter and cryptic words.

"She said she realized that Edward wasn't her mate, but she knew who it was supposed to be. She believed that she would never be with him that way. She knew it would be me that would come looking for her." I growled low in my chest. "What am I missing? She said 'your' not 'our' family so she feels rejected by them, but not by Emmett or me. She made me promise to take care of myself and Emmett, but why was she so worried about me? There were words it seemed like it was hard for her to write, like with Alice and not calling her my wife. Well, she won't be for much longer, but Bella couldn't have known that."

I started to pace as I thought, it felt like I was circling around the point here, but I just couldn't grasp it. "She only called me by name once, always cowboy otherwise. That was nothing new though, she stopped calling me anything but cowboy a long time ago, but she never called me her cowboy. Maybe that was just because she gave me that nickname. So what is it that I am missing?"

Hastening in my pacing, I reread the last bit of her letter out loud. "You, cowboy, I need you to take care of yourself and Emmett. You are my boys and I miss you both something fierce. Bet you never saw that coming thanks to our minimal interactions. Blame that on my soul searching and everything I learned about myself. Jasper, my lo…my cowboy, take care of yourself and don't take crap from anyone. Please. I love you all very much. Forever yours, cowboy, in spirit at least…" I stopped in my tracks.

Jacob looked up from his own thoughts at my sudden silence. Concern ebbed off of him in waves mingled with his grief and anger. "What did you figure out, leech?"

"I know what she was trying to tell me. Why didn't I see it sooner? Oh Bella, what have I done?" I dropped to my knees and pulled the letter into my chest.

"Umm, Jasper, you wanna share your thoughts a bit more coherently?" Jacob growled at me.

"Why didn't I see it sooner? Was it Alice? Was she trying to keep me away? They all were worried that I was going to snap and kill her. I knew I wouldn't, but they wouldn't listen to me. I was always calmed by her presence and I just put that down to her happiness. But if that were the case, then why did I feel the need to protect her when she was threatened by James?"

Jacob stood there silently staring at me as I rambled, trying to make sense of what I was thinking.

"I should have seen it at the ballet studio. I knew I felt different once we found her. My first thought was to get rid of the threat, but I also had to make sure she was ok." Suddenly a hole opened up in my chest that was filled with the most intense pain I had ever experienced. "I saw her, lying there burning from James' bite and all I wanted to do was get rid of James and then hold her through the change. Alice, she must have seen and then kept me from her. Fuck!"

Jacob flinched away from my growling, but didn't retreat. Then he felt it and was forced to sit down or fall down. "What is that?"

Looking over at him, I realized I must have been projecting. "Sorry, Jacob, I will try to keep better control of my emotions."

"That was you?" Jacob relaxed his muscles as he was back to only dealing with his own emotions.

"Yes, Bella told you I was an empath, remember? That's how you knew who I was. I feel everyone's emotions around me and I can even influence them if the need arises. Or I can project my own emotions to anyone around me, which is what I was doing apparently. Sorry." I took a deep breath and folded the letter back into its envelope.

"Ok, just don't ever do that shit again." He stood up, looking back at the house. "So what did you learn?"

"I don't know where she is or what happened if that's what you're asking." I took a deep breath just to steady myself before continuing. "What she was telling me was that I am her mate. So I have lost her before I even knew she was mine to lose. That must be why I have been so worried about her over the past year and why I was compelled to check on her."

Jacob looked at me and I could sense his grief and sorrow mingled with worry. "You aren't going to go all revenge crazy are you?"

"No, the mating bond wasn't fully formed so no, I won't become like Victoria. I will look for her though; I won't be able to stop myself." Looking up into the sky through the trees, I felt the pull to find her, to complete the bond, but I also needed to know more about her.

Jacob spent the rest of the night telling me about Bella and what happened to her after we left and didn't spare my feelings one bit, and I was grateful for his honesty. Hearing about how she was zombie like for the first few months after we left hurt. Then learning about her daredevil side made me angry with how she risked her life. It was only natural for me to worry about her, even with things that happened in the past. He told me about how hard it's been for Charlie since we left and since she disappeared. I knew that unless we found her, Charlie would most likely never come back from the loss.

After talking with Jacob, I left Forks and drove around the area for a few weeks, searching for any signs as to what happened to her. When I found nothing, I headed south, to my old homestead in Texas. I knew I would find Peter and Charlotte there or they would eventually show up. That was the only place that we had to truly call home and since they moved around a lot, they always came back to Texas, I knew that they always hoped to find me there when they got back.

When I got to the house outside of Houston, I found a note on the fridge addressed to me. Damn Peter and his knower. I chuckled to myself as I read the note.

_Major,_

_It's about time you left that damn pixie pest and came back to us. But as you can tell, we aren't there and I can't tell you when exactly you will see us again. There is something that needs our attention more than you do right now, but I promise, this can only turn out good for you. Just remember that you will see us again and we will have something that will make your life so much better, finally. So stop frowning and enjoy the homestead. _

_Welcome back to the family,_

_Peter_

_P.S. Char says to keep your cell number so we won't have to hunt you down when the time comes._

I remember being shocked over that little note, but I knew better than to try to second guess Peter and his knower. I spent a few years enjoying the homestead and getting back to my roots, every once in a while I would venture out to look for clues, hoping to find something that would tell me what happened to Bella. When I didn't find anything, the pull I felt in my chest would become almost unbearable and I would return to Texas to lick my wounds as they say. It came to the point where I was spending more time out looking for her than at home.

I didn't have much contact with anyone else. Peter and Charlotte were still off doing who knew what and I hadn't received any messages or anything from them since that note on the fridge. I would check in with the Cullens about once a year, just to keep up with Carlisle and Esme mostly. I had told them about the letter, some of it at least, and Bella's disappearance. I left it up to them if they shared the news with everyone else. I didn't care if Edward or Alice knew; I could only hope that if Carlisle did tell them that they understood their part in what happened to my mate. I didn't tell them about that part, I wanted to keep that to myself. To have something that I shared with only my Bella.

After the years started passing me by, I began to feel more alone and the pull became stronger. Every time I left the homestead to search for Bella, I was gone longer and would venture farther and farther away. After five years had passed I had searched all of the states as well as Canada. Upon my last trip back home, there was another note left for me and I cursed my luck for the bad timing.

_Major,_

_ I don't know how you are doing it, but keep surviving and searching. You will eventually find the answers to your questions, don't give up. I know I don't have the pixie's gift of visions but my knower keeps me in line with what's going to happen. We are still tied up with our own mission, but we shall be seeing you soon. Once you are in a place where you can accept the answers you will receive them._

_ Be patient and stop cursing me,_

_ Peter_

I growled and crumpled up the note, throwing it in the trash. I was tired of his cryptic ass and all I wanted was for whatever this was to be over. I apparently wasn't going to be granted a reprieve any time soon per the note so I packed my duffle with my essentials, hopped in my truck and took off. This time I wasn't planning on coming back until I had either found out what happened to Bella or I caught up with my missing brother and sister.

Over the next three years I traveled all over the states and Canada again, searching for clues. I would check in with Jacob every once in a while to see how things were going on his end, but neither of us ever had any good news to tell the other. We were both still searching for Bella, completely ignoring her plea for us not to, and Jacob had the extra task of keeping an eye on Charlie. He was starting to move on finally after eight years and had settled down with Sue Clearwater and in doing so, learned all about the pack and the cold ones. I was never brave enough to ask if he knew about the Cullens or not and Jacob never volunteered the information.

At that point it had been over eight years since I had learned that Bella was missing (I refused to think she was dead) and that we were mates. I had found no hard evidence confirming she was still alive, I only had my belief and the pull I felt in my chest. I just knew she was still out there, she had to be. I could not go on with this hole in my chest, which I did my best to ignore most of the time. I decided after the last check in with Jacob, that I would try looking somewhere new as I didn't think I could handle searching the states and Canada again knowing I wasn't going to find anything.

And that is how I ended up in Italy. After leaving the states I spent the first year searching Ireland, Scotland and Great Britain. I vaguely remember those being places she had mentioned in passing that she wanted to visit. So I figured they were worth checking out. Of course I came up empty handed again. Once I finished there I moved on to Germany and Romania, I knew both places had a high concentration of vampires and if I went by the thought that a vampire took her, those would be viable places for her to end up. At one point I thought I came across her scent, it was Jasmin with a light hint of freesia mixed with a warm spice that I couldn't place. I only knew it was her when my chest constricted at the scent and the pull to her almost brought me to my knees.

Searching more closely around the area, I realized I was just outside of Bucharest in Romania. I tried to find more clues as to where she went. There were no signs that were able to lead me to where she went or even why she had been here. I did note that there was a scent that mingled with hers, it was a male from what I could tell, but it wasn't one that I could place with a name. Growling low in my chest, I didn't like the thought of any males being anywhere near my Bella. After finding nothing, I moved on to Italy. That was the only other place with a high number of vampires that I could think she would go to. It was also the home to our vampire royalty, which made me cringe at the thought of her being anywhere near the kings.

Aro was a collector of sorts and I just knew that with Bella's powers, he would want her for his own and that was just not something that I would allow. Bella was not an object, she was my mate, a living creature, if you could call us that, and she deserved to live freely, not as someone's pet. Being controlled was something she already experienced thanks to Edward; I never believed that he actually loved her and his treatment of her towards the end just proved my suspicions to be true.

I spent a year searching all over Italy and even ventured close to Volterra, where the kings resided in their castle. I came to the conclusion that there was no way that she could be in Volterra as I never once picked up any traces of her scent close to it. If I had found her scent I would have gone in to confront Aro, I would have done it fearlessly, but I can admit that I am glad it didn't come to that. It would not have fared well for any of us and that kind of danger was not something that I wanted Bella to get caught up in. I decided to find a home in Italy to stay for a while so I found a little cottage about an hour south of Florence in Siena and bought it. I would stay there for a couple of weeks before traveling the country and searching for my lost mate. After finding nothing I would return to the cottage and start the cycle over again.

It was on one of these trips that found me, a year after arriving in Italy, relaxing in a secluded meadow, watching the clouds float past in the sky. I could sense something in the air; it held a sense of foreboding as well as excitement and closure. I can't tell you how I knew that, I just sensed it as I watched the clouds go by. This little meadow was peaceful and tranquil and allowed me to detox from the search and worry over my precious mate and what happened to her.

That afternoon, as I finished going down memory lane, is when I decided to locate my missing siblings, hoping they could help me find Bella. It had been too long since I had seen them and I had no idea what they were up to. I was making plans for my return to the states when my phone starting ringing in my pocket. Curious, I pulled it out and looked at the caller id.

I growled as I hit the answer button. "What do you want, Alice?"

"Jasper, we have a problem and need your help." She responded, worry evident in her voice.

I sat up and frowned, after ten years she thinks she can call and ask for my help? She wasn't really one that I would be willing to help any time in the near future and I realized I needed to tell her that.

"Alice, I don't know why you called, but I don't believe it's my job to save you anymore. I believe that ended when you signed the divorce papers." I know it was cruel, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

She sighed in frustration and hurt. "It's not for me, well not just me. It's for the whole family. We received a summons from Aro earlier today. It was addressed to all of us, including you and …"

I closed my eyes, fighting another growl. "What aren't you telling me, Alice?"

She groaned, apparently she had not wanted me to catch on that she was hiding something. "Jasper, they know about Bella."

**A/N - Sorry for the cliffy with the first chapter. It just flowed and it seemed like a good place to stop.**

**Please review…I am happy to get good and bad reviews, how else can I get better? Please no flames. If you don't review I won't know if you guys want me to continue the story. I will let you know that I am almost finished with the next chapter, so please review. If you do, Jasper may just fill you with a sense of joy.**

**Chapter song is Ghost by American Authors**


	2. Stay High

Guys, your response to the first chapter was amazing and I am thoroughly floored. I never expected the response I got and I just want to say thank you to everyone who favorite, followed and reviewed. I tried to respond to everyone who reviewed, but if I missed you, please know that I did read it (most likely on my phone) and I cherish everyone's thoughts. As always, I am up for questions if you have any and reviews whether they are good or have critiques. I can only get better if someone is nice enough to politely tell me what I can improve on. With that, read on and enjoy!

Side note – I unfortunately do not own any of these amazing characters; I am just enjoying playing in Stephenie Meyer's sandbox.

Staying in my play pretend  
Where the fun ain't got no end  
Can't go home alone again  
Need someone to numb the pain

You're gone and I've gotta stay high  
All the time  
High all the time  
High all the time  
To keep you off my mind  
High all the time  
High all the time  
High all the time  
To keep you off my mind

**JPOV**

"Jasper, they know about Bella."

"What?!" I shouted into the phone. "How the hell do they know about her?"

"I don't know, Jazz. We're being summoned to their court and that was all that was on the actual summons, but once we received it, I looked into Aro's decisions and all I was able to see was that it had something to do with Bella." Alice yelled back. I heard her take a deep breath attempting to calm down. "Where are you, Jazz?"

"Italy." Was all I said. I was still seething over the idea of Aro even knowing about Bella and couldn't fully focus on Alice and her anger.

"Really?" She asked, shocked at my answer. As I imagined her gears turning, she asked, "Where in Italy exactly?"

I sighed, 'shouldn't her visions have told her this already?' I thought to myself. "Yes. Right now I'm not far from Messina. Don't ask me why I'm here, Alice, as I'm not up to sharing my life with you."

"Are you still mad at me, Jazz? It's been what, ten years now, can't you let it go?"

I had to chuckle, she hadn't changed. I kept from yelling at her but just barely, the growl was still noticeable in my response. "I may never let it go, Alice, but as we rarely ever talk, it really shouldn't bother you. Now tell me what it is exactly that you think you need me for?"

Alice sighed in exasperation. "Jazz, you are on the summons too. Apparently Aro didn't get the memo that you left our family years ago."

"Guilt trips won't work on me, Alice. If I'm included in the summons then I have no choice but to go. When are we supposed to be there?" Going into Volterra was not something I wanted to do any time in the near future as Aro had always wanted to add me to his collection of gifted vampires. I didn't relish the idea of being close enough for him to try to make that happen.

"The summons is for us to appear in tomorrow afternoon. We are flying out in a few hours hoping that once we get there between Edward and me we can get a better grasp on why we were summoned." Alice paused. "You are going to go right? I mean you wouldn't ignore Aro would you?"

"I already told you that I'll go. I don't have a death wish, definitely not for something your family did, and that is exactly what would happen if I or any of you ignored the summons. If there is nothing else, then I will see you in Volterra."

"Oh, alright, Jasper. We will see you there." Alice sighed as she hung up the phone.

I put my phone back in my pocket as I got up and walked out of the meadow. I couldn't help but wonder how Aro had learned about Bella and what all he knew. We could all be in serious danger as it was against the law that humans were allowed to live if they learned about our existence. The only options were to kill the humans or to change them. Most of the time, as callous as it sounds; it was just easier to kill them. For us vegetarians, it was harder because it was just a complete waste of life.

Shaking my head as I reached my car, I glanced at the sky before sliding into my Aston Martin Vanquish. I had always wanted one and decided since I had a home now in Italy, might as well get myself a car that I always wanted. I did have to chuckle to myself as I thought about my color choice, the sales guy said it was Volcano Red, but it reminded me more of a newborn's red eyes. Once I saw the color I had to have it as it made me think of Bella as I was certain that after finding her scent she had been turned. Thinking about that always made my chest ache as I wish that it was my venom that was running through her veins, and then I would think that she was out there, somewhere, and I still had no idea where she was.

The smile on my face from listening to the growl of the engine faded as I thought about the drive ahead of me and where I was going. Growling low in my chest, I put the car in gear and drove down the road that would take me back to the Cullens and the Volturi. I had no idea what they wanted with us or what was going to happen; I just knew that I wasn't going to enjoy any of it.

**DPOV**

Sensing movement in my room, I walked in from my balcony and smiled. I always enjoyed these random visits, even if I knew what the first question out of her mouth would be.

"Where is he, Demetri?"

She never disappointed. "Mia sorella, he was just outside of Messina a few hours ago and I believe he is heading this way. He should be here in about an hour or two based on his speed."

I knew she was nervous and I was the only one that was allowed to see it, other than the ones she has taken to protecting. From that first day that I saw her and was able to talk to her, we had shared a bond; one I had thought would lead me to finally finding my mate, but it was not meant to be. After a thousand years of searching, I can say that I don't really believe that I have one now. But I do have a sister of sorts as that is the bond that I have with her.

When I brought her here with me, I was told by Aro to teach her how to survive in our world and anything else she wanted. I was hers to command and she knew it, but never held it over my head. Always asked for my help or she would yell at me if I tried to take it easy on her in her training. When I told her she was legitimately kicking my ass, she would laugh and tell me to man up. Needless to say these have been some of the best years of my life.

Her sigh dragged me from my musings. "I guess I need to go talk to Aro. Thanks to you, I knew he was here in Italy, but I didn't think he would show up without the Cullens."

I went to her and pulled her into a hug. "Non ti preoccupare piccina. I will go tell Aro that we want to work on your tracking skills and we can leave before he gets here. Aro does not need to know about him."

She laid her head on my shoulder; it always amazed me that she had gotten taller with her change as that rarely happened. "Il mio protettore, how did I get so lucky to have you in this life?"

"I have wondered the same thing. Only thing I came up with is that I was supposed to be here to take care of you, like I did for my sister when I was human." Giving her a light squeeze I pulled back to look in her eyes. "If you still want to be gone when he gets here then we should be on our way."

"You're right, as always. Let us go play hunter and prey and I will try to forget that he is going to be here when we get back." Turning from me she started for the door, but stopped with a shiver.

Expecting the nervousness did not help me stand under its weight. "Merda! Piccina, you have no reason to be nervous. He will understand, I promise."

"You keep saying that, Demetri, but it's hard for me to believe. He never knew what happened, what was supposed to happen and even if he figured it out, I fear that I have broken his heart or his trust at the very least." Hanging her head, her grief saturated the air in the room.

"He will understand, if not I will kick his ass. Isa, you have not waited this long to have him turn his back on you, which I do not believe that he could do regardless of what happened." Walking up behind her, I placed my hands on her shoulders. "Now let's stop worrying about things we cannot change right now and get out of here. I would imagine you want them to come with us?"

Lifting her head, she turned to smile back at me. "Yes, they should be out of the castle when he gets here. I will have to block them as well as myself until the meeting tomorrow."

"Well in that case, I will go collect them and they can get your Ducati ready for you. I will head out while you inform Aro that we are working on your tracking skills and will hunt afterwards. You will need to be at full strength if you are going to do that much additional shielding until tomorrow afternoon." Opening the door, I gestured for her to proceed me into the hallway.

Turning to give me a hug, she smiled before backing up a few paces. "Alright, tracking then hunting sounds good to me. Tell them I will be down in about ten minutes."

Closing my eyes, I searched for them and found them already in the garage. "Apparently they knew the plans before we did. They are in the garage waiting for us. So as always, piccina, catch me if you can."

Her laughter followed me down the hallway as I headed to the garage.

**JPOV**

The beginning of my drive to Volterra went by quickly as I was so angry and frustrated at being dragged into the Cullens bullshit again. I knocked the first hundred miles of the trip out in under an hour. Realizing that drawing the attention of the police would not be a good idea, I slowed down to a more normal speed. Refusing to think about the Cullens or the Volturi, I spent the next three hundred miles thinking about Bella and how I imagined her to be as a vampire.

She would be beyond beautiful of course. Being my mate, she would be the most beautiful woman in my eyes. For some reason I could only picture her with the bright red eyes of a newborn. Every time I tried to picture her with golden eyes like mine, my mind refused to call up the image. It's like it's not even a possibility for her to feed on animals like I do. Deciding that it didn't really matter what she fed on, she was still mine and I would still love her no matter what. I thought that if it came down to it, once I found her and she was feeding from humans, I would change my diet to match hers. That shocked the shit out of me when I realized it, since being an empath made it hard for me to deal with the humans as they were dying, but it was something I would do for Bella.

As if the thought of her made her real, the pull in my chest intensified. I looked up and found that I was just a few miles from Volterra. I realized that I must have made better time than planned as I was still expecting about another hour of driving. Feeling the ache in my chest intensify, I saw a trio of bikers heading my way. As the lead biker flew past me, I felt the ache fluctuate and I watched in the rearview mirror as they passed out of sight. I didn't have time to figure out what that was all about, but with them going at the speed they were, they were most likely vampires and based on the colors of their clothes, they were part of the guard. Knowing they would make their way back, I focused on the issues ahead of me.

Driving slowly, I made my way through the tight streets of Volterra until I saw the castle in front of me. With a sigh of resignation, I pulled into the garage and parked my car in one of the open bays. Getting out of my car, I saw a door open to the side and someone step out into the garage. Straightening from the car, I closed the door and moved slowly towards the door and recognized the vampire standing guard.

"Felix, it's been a long time." I nodded in greeting.

"Major." Was his only response as he opened the door to the lower halls of the castle.

Walking through the door, it only took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness that enveloped me, but soon I was able to see the hallway before me and the stairs and elevator at the far end. I waited for Felix to join me as they were very picky about following protocol at all times. A visitor was to be escorted by a member of the guard everywhere unless given permission by one of the kings to go solo. I rolled my eyes as Felix moved in front of me to lead me to the elevator, which was open and waiting for us.

Following him into the elevator, I saw him press the button for level two and raised an eyebrow in question at him. Normally upon arriving at the castle, one was taken directly to meet with the kings as they did not like to be kept waiting, but their throne room is on level three and that was not where Felix was taking me.

Felix glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, not letting any emotions filter out to me other than boredom and annoyance. "I will inform Aro that you arrived early, but they will not be receiving anyone today. You are to stay in the room provided to you unless your presence has been requested."

The elevator door opened as he finished and I followed him out and down the hallway to the left. Stopping as he opened a door to a room on the left, I walked into the room and had to acknowledge that for the Volturi, this room suited my personality. It was rustic in its coloring in greens and browns and most of the furniture was made of cherry wood, its dark coloring fitting in with the colors chosen. I saw that this room had a balcony as well.

"If you need anything, just call for me or Alec, one of us will be around at all times. We will let you know when the rest of your coven arrives." Felix closed the door behind him, not bothering to wait for my reply.

I walked over to the balcony and opened the doors. Stepping outside, I noticed that it was later than I had thought as I saw the hues of red and orange tint the sky with the sun setting behind the mountains just outside of Volterra. Going back into the room, I grabbed a chair and took it out on the balcony so that I could admire the countryside behind the castle. There was a line of forest just behind the castle's outer wall and a vast field beyond that with a thick forest bordering the field on the far side. Noticing how open the field was, I could only imagine where I would be able to hunt if I stayed here too long.

"Major."

I jumped at hearing the voice behind me. I had been so lost in thought I didn't hear anyone enter the room behind me let alone walk up to the balcony door. Turning my head, I saw Jane standing there with a very odd look on her face.

"Jane, I didn't hear you come in." I offered a tight smile. "You have gotten stealthier since I last saw you."

She chuckled. "I believe it has to do with you being preoccupied."

I nodded, she was very correct on that. Standing up, I looked out towards the mountains and saw that the light from the sunrise was bathing the mountains and the trees behind the castle in a warm light. Did I really sit out here all night long and not realize it? Damn, this is not the place to be caught unawares at all.

I was about to ask Jane why she had come for me, when movement down on the other side of the trees caught my eye. Leaning forward, I saw a form on horseback race out onto the field angling away from the castle. I watched as she moved with the horse, flowing with his sinewy movements. She was riding bareback, but had complete control over her mount. I couldn't see her face as she was riding away from the castle, but I could see her hair that flowed behind her in the wind caused by the speed of the horse as his long legs ate up the ground on its way to the trees on the other side of the field. I was expecting to be dazzled with the sparkling of her skin as she was wearing what looked to be a t-shirt, jeans and riding boots.

I held my breath, waiting for the sight, but let it out in a gush as the light hit her and all I saw was a woman on a horse riding at a speed that was too fast for a human to handle bareback. Yet, if I were to trust my eyes, that was exactly what I was seeing. If I didn't already have a mate, I could see myself being intrigued with a woman that had such control on a horse, as I grew up with horses and they were my passion until I met the Cullens. Horses were one of the few animals that could be trained to accept living around vampires without panicking.

"Isa does that every day at the same time."

"What?" I asked, being pulled from my musings.

"I could tell you were curious about her. Isa rides her horse through that field every day at the same time. She will be riding back the same way in a couple hours I would imagine." Jane turned to leave. "Aro sent me to let you know that we have confirmation that the Cullens will land shortly and will be here within the next couple of hours. As soon as they arrive, Aro will call everyone to the throne room for the requested audience. Do you need anything before I depart, Major?"

Looking at Jane I couldn't quite figure out why everyone here was being so courteous and offering up information that normally would have been closely guarded. And why had she told me anything about that mysterious human? I could understand why they would know about her as she rode so close to the castle every day, but why tell me anything? I was a visitor and one that shouldn't be considered friendly, not with my past or my association with the Cullens and Edward's screw up with Bella.

"No, Jane, thank you. I will be fine here until I am called for."

Nodding her head and letting me see a small smirk, she left me to my thoughts.

Going back to my chair on the balcony, I thought over why everyone was acting the way they were here in Volterra. Either I was not in trouble or they were trying to lull me into a sense of comfort and would hit me with a punishment when I least expected it. Needless to say I was quite confused and that was not a feeling that I liked at all. Anger I can deal with and would welcome, but confusion is not for me. Being a Major in the confederate army, I learned to make split second decisions; confusion was washed out of all my thought processes.

Thinking back on those days, I decided to work on getting back to that mindset and focus on what I knew and not what was supposition. Confusion was going to be a feeling that I would not allow myself in the future. It would not help me locate Bella or catch up with my missing siblings.

Just as I thought that I heard hooves in the distance, a knock sounded at my door. Turning, I saw the door open and Jane stepped inside. I rose from my chair, assuming I was being called to the throne room, but growled low as I watched her give me a sympathetic look before the Cullens followed her in. Remembering my earlier promise to ignore confusion going forward, I nodded at Jane and then turned my back on the unwanted guests in my room. Looking out over the open field, I caught a fleeting glimpse of the woman riding her horse back into the trees.

Shaking my head at having missed her graceful ride, I sighed and waited for the barrage of questions I was sure to get.

"Major."

I turned around to see that Jane was standing right behind me; I arched my eyebrow in question.

Speaking low and quick, for my ears only, Jane leaned closer to me. "I only brought them here under duress. I tried to keep them to their own room, but they all but demanded to be brought to wait with you. Aro should be calling the meeting shortly, but I will be just outside the door if you need me."

As shocked as I was, I did well in hiding it. I expected my jaw to be all the way to the floor by the time she finished speaking. "Thank you, Jane. I know how they can be, so I understand. I will be ready when Aro calls."

I watched as my so called 'family' moved out of Jane's way as she left. I could sense her anger at the Cullens and I could only assume that it had to do with them breaking one of the laws for our race. I didn't sense the same anger towards me though. Every time that Jane had been around me since my arrival, it was more a sense of sorrow that I got from her and maybe a tinge of hope, but I wasn't sure. Volterra was proving to be more of a quandary than I had expected.

"Jasper."

I turned at the sound of my name uttered by Carlisle, not responding. Reaching out with my senses, I tasted everyone's emotions and got just about what I expected. Rose and Emmett were happy to see me, but scared at being called to the castle. Fear was the common emotion amongst them all, but Edward had sorrow and anger mixed in with his fear. Alice was scared of being here, but it spiked any time she caught me looking at her. So now she was afraid of me? Well I guess I should have seen that coming. I portrayed everything that she found abhorrent in our race, namely the blood lust, as well as the constant reminder of where I came from, being my southern roots.

I took a lot of pleasure in seeing her reaction to my worn Levi's, black long sleeve button down and cowboy boots. Only thing I needed was my cowboy hat and I could probably make her run screaming with a thickly accented, 'howdy ma'am'. That thought had me grinning from ear to ear, which turned into a chuckle when I heard Edward snort, obviously having read my thoughts.

"If you don't like what you hear, maybe you should stay out of my head, Edward."

I got another snort in response as he turned his back on me to look at the books on the shelves along the wall. That left me to consider the emotions from Carlisle and Esme. Both were scared, of course, but were happy to see me. I felt the same for them to a degree. But as long as Bella was missing, I don't think I could ever truly forgive them for their part in what happened to her.

I decided that I was still too upset with them for costing me my mate; I didn't want to deal with them just then. So I turned my back to them again and went back to my place on the balcony. Not long after, I felt Rose and Emmett walk out to join me, but they didn't say anything. It was comforting having them there and I knew that if we were to survive this day, they would not be leaving with the others. I could sense from their emotions that they were only here with the rest of them because they had no choice. Maybe we would talk after all this was over. I needed to check on my Harley after all, make sure Em was taking care of her.

We stood in companionable silence for a while until we heard a knock on the door. We turned as Jane entered and I could feel Felix still out in the hallway. "Are they ready for us?"

Jane nodded and watched as we filed out of my room. I let Carlisle lead the way as he was supposed to be the leader of this family, even though it appears there were now three of us that didn't acknowledge him that way.

I was the last to walk out the door past Jane and as I did, I felt her send a feeling of encouragement my direction. Again, all I could do was quirk an eyebrow at her before following the Cullens down the hallway.

It only took a few minutes for Felix to lead us to the throne room and as we got closer, there was a feeling of excitement and dread, neither of which were coming from our little group. It seemed to be coming from the throne room up ahead.

Alec was waiting for us and as Felix reached him, they opened the doors for us to enter. They nodded to me as I walked between them and entered the throne room.

As expected, the guard surrounded the room, standing along the walls and keeping an eye on us as we made our way to the center. As I walked to my place next to Emmett, I watched as Jane, Alec and Felix moved to stand next to Demetri, on Caius' left hand side, just below the stairs. The brothers were all up on the raised dais, Marcus and Caius were seated and watching us intently as we walked in. Aro was ignoring us completely as he stood before three cloaked figures that stood on the steps before him.

Out of all of the guards, I noticed that Demetri had the strongest emotions flowing off of him, but they were shifting so quickly I couldn't get a bead on them. I sensed anger, worry, excitement and love, but I couldn't tell what they were all aimed at. He caught me staring at him and gave me the slightest nod and went back to watching Aro and the three in front of him.

I fought off the confusion again as I tried to understand all that was going on around me. Why were the members of the elite Volturi guard acting the way they were with me? It made absolutely no sense. Suddenly, a sense of longing crept across the room towards me and my head snapped up, I was staring at the backs of the three cloaked figures as the feeling was suddenly shut off. It left me with such a sense of emptiness I had to stop myself from taking a step forward in search of the feeling.

What the hell was going on here?

**BPOV**

I stood in front of Aro with my cloak up as I didn't want the Cullens to know I was there until everyone was in the room. Aro had let me arrange this as this was my show. Aro was just standing there, watching me and waiting for the Cullens to file into the room. I knew the moment they reached our floor, I could feel all of their emotions flowing out of them like rivers; fear, anger, curiosity, worry, confusion, longing. I could also feel some of those emotions from the guard as well; anger, worry, curiosity. Only those in my guard were feeling anything other than curiosity as the rest of the guard had no idea what was going on, which was how Aro liked it. My guards were aware of some of what was going on and that was how I wanted it. They needed to be prepared for anything that could happen.

As the Cullens filtered into the room, fear became the most prominent of the emotions and it was so over powering that the air in the room tasted foul with the acridness of the emotion. I could tell when they saw us standing in front of Aro as confusion and curiosity mixed in with the fear. Once everyone was in the room and the twins had closed the doors, I bent my head down, absorbing the emotions behind me. Then my senses touched on the one I missed the most, the one I longed for and I momentarily let my emotions slip out of my shield. I knew the second he felt them as his shock filtered over to me.

Quickly regaining control over my emotions, I looked up at Aro and nodded, waiting.

Aro paused for effect, allowing the Cullens to stew in their fear of the unknown reason of their summons. After a few minutes of staring at me, completely ignoring the visitors behind me, Aro nodded and gave me a smirk before moving back to his throne.

I closed my eyes to gather my strength as I knew I would need it to keep my powers under control as well as my emotions. There were some things that the Volturi and their guard did not need to know and I was going to keep it that way. I guess I was taking too long as I heard someone shuffle their feet behind me. I raised my head to look at Aro questioningly.

"Aro, it has been a long time, my friend."

Aro's eyes snapped from mine to a point just behind my head and to the left. He leaned forward and steepled his fingers before responding. "Carlisle, it has been a long time. I trust all is well with your…family?"

"Ah, yes, we are all well." Carlisle cleared his throat, his unease evident to everyone in the room. "May I ask why we received your summons?"

"Yes, you may ask, but unfortunately that question is not mine to answer." Aro sat back in his seat and smiled at the shock each of the seven vampires behind me were feeling. I know the cause of their shock. They weren't used to Aro not being in control and it was making them uncomfortable. Nodding to me, he crossed his legs and relaxed into his throne, ready for the show to begin.

Before I made a move to reveal myself and drop any of my shields, I glanced at the two vampires flanking me and then to the rest of my guard standing by Caius. They all knew what was expected of them, especially Demetri. He was to move to stand behind Edward with Felix in case Edward reacted as I expected him to. Just for precaution, Alec and Jane were to move to stand behind the rest of the Cullens, doing that would also keep them off balance and unsure of what was going on.

With my shield still in place over my guard, I spoke knowing they would be the only ones to hear me. "Remember your orders. I will keep everyone shielded so that your thoughts and decisions cannot be detected. Let's try to keep this peaceful."

I sensed them all nod in acknowledgement and that was my queue to begin. I had been waiting for this for the last ten years and now that the day was finally upon me, I was nervous about the unknown outcome. I knew I would get the answers to the questions that I have been fuming over since I was brought to Volterra. I also knew that there was one certain person that the rest of my immortal life rested on and that scared me.

Keeping my emotions in check I let my outer shield drop, the one keeping my scent from being detected by the others in the room as well as keeping my little speech private. At the same time, I reached up to pull the hood from my head and letting my hair fall back over my shoulders to fall down to my hips. There were a few gasps behind me, but I could tell that they hadn't gotten my scent yet, so I waited. I knew the second Edward recognized it as his anger and fear went through the roof. Then I heard a faint sigh as well as feeling a wave of longing hit me that almost sent me to my knees.

Remembering that we had an audience, I blocked his emotions, knowing I wouldn't be able to pull this off if he kept sending me his longing. The two vampires beside me pulled their hoods down. I knew that only one person behind me would recognize them, so I wasn't going to wait for reactions this time. With a final nod to Aro, I turned to face the vampires that I once called my second family.

I looked at the Cullens, standing there with different degrees of shock on their faces. This was my family, one that had chosen me and not because of my supposed love for Edward. They had accepted me for who I was and wanted me to be changed to be a part of their family forever. Emmett had said that if Edward and I ever split they would keep me instead of him, which had always made me giggle. I knew I could always count on my big brother to back me up; he even tried to with Rose. I know I should be mad at them all for leaving me, but I have had a lot of time to think about what happened and why and I knew they were trying to protect their family and just listened to the wrong person.

I looked into Carlisle's eyes and saw the shock as his golden eyes met my violet ones. Keeping my face clear of all emotion, I moved on to Esme, the woman who told me to call her mom. She was sending me such a strong feeling of love and relief that it took all my strength not to run into her arms. I had missed my parents so much that it made my dead heart hurt. Next was Edward. I met his gaze briefly, but quickly moved on to Rose who was looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and relief, which the latter shocked me. As I met her gaze she gave me a small smile and nodded towards Emmett.

I looked at my brother and had to let a smile grace my lips. Emmett was beaming such happiness that I bet all of Volterra could feel it. I knew these past ten years had been the hardest on him, not being able to say goodbye and then believing I was dead. Without thinking I sent him my feeling of love for him and watched as his eyes widened in shock. I saw that he was about to comment and I shook my head at him, hoping he would keep quiet. Next to him was Alice, the little pixie. She looked so small standing next to Em. I think she was the most shocked out of all of them. It didn't feel like she was shocked I was alive, more at where she found me. Guess she was having visions again or had them.

Moving to the last in the line, I glanced at Jasper. When I met his golden gaze, I saw his start to darken. I knew how he felt, I was barely able to keep myself on the steps, but I didn't want anyone else to know that I had a mate. I felt his confusion as I didn't move towards him. Part of me wanted to run to him, but I knew that there were things about me that he wouldn't like and I didn't know if we would be able to get past that. So I sent him a sense of calm and turned back to look at them all, but not before I registered the shock added to his confusion.

"I am sure you all have a lot of questions for me, but we will save them for another time." As I spoke I watched Edward for his reactions. So far all he had done was stare at me as if I couldn't really be here. "I requested your presence as there was something that I believe needs to be addressed and cleared before I can move on with my life."

"You sent the summons?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes, I did." I met his gaze. "Honestly, you had to expect it at some point what with me disappearing and you allowing Edward to leave me as a human."

"But that doesn't matter now, you are…" Edward started to protest but I cut him off.

"Be silent, Cullen!" Demetri snarled from behind him.

Seeing Edward tense, Demetri moved closer to him with Felix close to his side. While they repositioned themselves, the two people standing next to me finally turned around. I knew that the Cullens wouldn't recognize them, but they would not go unnoticed.

"Peter? Charlotte?"

I looked at Jasper and saw the confusion and hurt flash across his face. He looked at me and then I saw his emotions just shut down and an impassive look was aimed at me. Even though I expected his rejection it still hurt and I barely stopped myself from wrapping my arms around myself.

"Major." Peter said as he placed a hand on my shoulder, sending me his support.

"So this is why I haven't seen you in the past ten years?" Jasper asked, barely suppressing a growl. "You have joined the Volturi?"

Peter sighed, he had known this was going to be tricky and had warned me about it. "I can't explain it all right now, Major, but we are here for Bella. You could say we joined her guard, not the Volturi."

Aro snickered behind me. He always found it funny that I had brought them back with me after my first hunt. "Major, I can assure you they have declined all of my requests to join the guard. I can't seem to get rid of them though as they have taken quite a liking to Isabella and she them. They do belong to her after all."

"What are you talking about?" Jasper took a step forward, only stopping when I shook my head.

"Aro, please stop baiting Jasper." I turned and glared at him before looking back to Jasper just in time to catch another look of shock cross his face before he shut his emotions down again. "Jasper, please, I will answer your questions later. Why they are here is not important right at this moment."

"As you wish, Isabella." Jasper returned to his place next to Alice.

My eyes flashed in irritation and I snapped without thinking. "Don't take that tone with me, Cowboy."

Jasper's eyes flashed to mine in confusion, the look on his face never changing.

As our eyes met, I gave him the chance to see the pain in my eyes, the sorrow I felt over being apart from him for so long and the guilt I felt for the betrayal he assumed his siblings were a part of. After a few seconds passed I shut down my emotions again as I heard a low growl from Demetri. Looking at him, I shook my head to quiet him and proceeded with the plans. This really was harder than I had expected, taking a deep breath with the hope that I would be able to get through this.

"Carlisle, as the head of your family, you may ask your questions and I will answer if I am able. I will tell you now that everything will not be revealed at this time. Your presence has been requested here for a few weeks if that is acceptable to you?"

"Bella, I can only speak for Esme, Edward and myself, but we would be most grateful to accept your invitation to stay. We have missed you and would love the chance to talk about everything that has gone on." Carlisle paused as he heard another short growl come from behind him.

"Demetri." I snapped and that was all that was needed. I watched as he bowed his head and took a step back from his place behind Edward. "Carlisle, why do you not speak for Rose, Emmett and Jasper?"

"I…" Carlisle started but was cut off.

"Why are you worried about them, my love? Did you not notice that he left out your best friend? He never mentioned Alice, are you not concerned about her?" Edward asked anger evident in his tone.

I growled at him and he flinched. "Why do you think I am worried about her? She was right there with you in controlling my life. She did nothing to stop you, only encouraged you. If I want to know what happened to her since I last saw her then I will ask. Do not interrupt again!"

Peter leaned over and whispered for my hearing only. "Don't let him get to you, Bells. Remember, you need to stay calm to conserve your energy."

I looked at him and nodded, my eyes catching a bite mark just showing above his collar under his left ear and I sighed. He was right. I couldn't afford to let this get dragged out by drama, I only had oh so much energy and shielding everyone in my guard was taking its toll already. "Carlisle, please."

Carlisle sighed and took a step forward. "Bella, as things have changed with you they have changed with our family as well. This is the first time that we have seen Jasper since he left ten years ago. As for Rose and Emmett, they have spent most of their time travelling since Jasper left us."

"Why did they all leave? Emmett? Why did you leave your family?" I asked.

Emmett looked at Rosalie and then stepped forward, looking sad and yet hopeful all at the same time. "Ah, Bells, we left because we couldn't stand being around Edward anymore. He was the reason that I lost my lil sis and it was unbearable to be around him, so we left."

"Really?" I couldn't stop the hope from leaking out in my question.

"Yeah, we left right after we learned that you were missing."

I couldn't breathe; Em had missed me and left the family because of what happened. Was it true? I looked at Rosalie and she nodded as she met my eyes with a look of regret and sorrow. That was all I needed to know. Without a second thought I threw myself at Emmett and wrapped my arms around his neck. I had moved so quickly that he didn't have time to prepare, but he quickly wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my hair.

"Oh, lil sis, I am so sorry." He sobbed into my shoulder. "We never should have left you."

"Em, stop. It's all in the past and I want to move on. Can we start over, big brother?" I leaned back and took his face in my hands, forcing him to look me in the eyes. I smiled as he nodded so vigorously it would have been a blur to human eyes. Once he stopped, I placed a kiss on his cheek and stepped back from his embrace. "I'm glad to have you back. You too Rosalie."

Rose nodded as she pulled Emmett back to her side.

I was worried about the outcome of the next question, but I had to know and my impatience got the better of me. I turned to the blonde at the end of the line of Cullens. "Jasper?"

He kept staring at Peter and Charlotte, ignoring me.

"Cowboy?" I tried again, hoping to reach him.

He slowly turned his head to look at me, confusion in his eyes. "Yes, Bella?"

"Why did you leave your w…family?" I held my breath, hoping my slip went unnoticed.

Jasper stared at me and his mouth worked, but no sounds came out. He looked to be at a loss for words. He looked at Peter and then turned back to look at me. "I…"

"Bella." Peter interrupted Jasper. "I believe you have more important questions to ask right now. You can play catch up later."

I whirled around, anger flaring at the interruption. I saw Peter cringe, just enough for me to see that he was aware that I was angry. He was right though; this wasn't the time for me to question Jasper, but damnit it still pissed me off. I stood there, staring at Peter, trying to calm myself down, when suddenly I heard him.

'_Bells, I am really hoping you have Eddie's gift working. I'm sorry, but you were the one who wanted to keep your mating situation away from the Volturi for now.'_

I snorted and took a few steps towards him, not really planning on doing anything, but distancing myself from the Cullens to give me a chance to think. It had the added benefit of causing Peter to shuffle his feet minutely.

'_Ok, so I deserve the stare and you can beat my ass later. Can we please just get this over with? Having Aro at my back is making my skin crawl."_

Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I turned back to face the Cullens. "Peter is right. We can catch up later. Right now, I have some unfinished business to deal with."

I felt Jasper's eyes on me, studying me and probably trying to figure out what was going on and why I seemed to be taking orders from Peter. I also caught a thought from him, wondering how I managed to scare Peter into fidgeting. Just that thought alone caused me to laugh. I locked down my emotions again because if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to deal with Edward. I stood up straight to my full height, allowing them to see that I had actually gained a few inches thanks to my change. Turning, I looked into the eyes that I once thought were the most beautiful thing in the world. Now they just left me feeling empty, knowing how false the beauty behind his eyes really was.

"Hello Edward."

"Bella, immortality suits you." Edward smiled his dazzling smile, hiding his fear behind his smile. "I am sorry about what I said in the woods, Bella. I was trying to protect you from our world. I did it because I love you."

I hid my cringe at his words, I knew what he was feeling and thinking, but he didn't know that. This was something we had decided I would have to let slip regarding my powers. Peter came up with the idea that they would just be actual powers themselves, that I had three total. Which that wasn't a lie, we were just fudging the truth about one of them to protect me as Peter put it.

"Edward, if you truly loved me there is no way you would have been able to leave me like that. You said I was your mate and yet you were able to so easily turn your back on me and walk away." I stepped towards him and held my left hand out, palm up just like Aro does. "I knew you were going to leave me, Edward. I always knew. I had thought you were beyond perfection back then and I knew that being a clumsy pathetic human couldn't compare to your beauty, your grace or to anyone else that you may have met. I won't lie and say it didn't hurt when you left me; it hurt worse than the burn of my change. So tell me something, anything, that would make me believe that what you did in those woods was out of love for me."

Edward stood there, staring at me and my hand. His emotions were a jumble of confusion and fear, yet there was just the tiniest hint of hope tangled in there as well. He smiled as he stepped forward; taking my hand thinking this was a sign that he was going to gain my forgiveness. "Bella, my love, you know that I only ever wanted to protect you from our world. I loved you too much to see you hurt by Jasper or someone else from our world. You were so fragile and I just wanted to be with you forever, but I knew that was selfish of me. So I decided that you would be better off if we were out of your life. I had no idea that us leaving would make things worse for you. For that, I truly am sorry."

I listened as his words flowed over me and I smiled at the thought that he was saying everything in just the right way to win a person over. I stared into his eyes and felt his emotions; I sensed no guilt or shame, just hope and eagerness. Looking down at his hand in mine, I brought my right hand up to lay on top of his hand before looking back into his eyes. "If I were to ask Emmett if he would be able to leave Rose like you left me, what do you think his response would be?"

Edward jerked backwards but was held in place as I still held his hand. Shock and anger flowed from him.

"What's wrong Edward?" I tilted my head to the side in question. "Should I not ask Em that?"

"I already did."

I turned from Edward to look over at Jasper, shocked at his statement. "You did?"

"Yes, he did and it was rather unpleasant." Edward said. "The thoughts Emmett was thinking were quite painful to listen to."

"Painful? You mean Emmett was in pain just thinking about leaving his mate behind?" I waited for his answer; I was not expecting to have repeated a question Jasper had already asked.

"Yes, I can only imagine what it would have been like to feel his emotions." Edward snapped back.

"You did feel his emotions, Eddie boy; I made sure to share them with everyone in the room. I am a little surprised that you don't remember that as they should have just been an echo to what you felt leaving Bella." Jasper looked at Edward with murder in his eyes, but otherwise he portrayed a sense of calm.

"I find that quite interesting, Edward." I brought his attention back to me as I patted his hand. "I think you may need a refresher. Was this anything like what Emmett felt?"

Closing my eyes, I concentrated on sharing the feelings with the Cullens, my guard and the kings. I wanted to make sure that everyone understood that Edward was lying. I knew this was not going to be easy for me to relive or for everyone else to experience, but it needed to be done. I had only done this once before and that was to make sure that it worked, but I didn't go anywhere near these emotions and the thought of sharing that scared me.

Taking a deep breath, I allowed myself to remember how I felt back when Edward was leaving. Slowly the feelings of loss, of inadequacy, of heart break, being incomplete started to creep out through the room. I listened as Edward gasped and shook from experiencing the intense feelings that he caused so long ago. More gasps reached my ears as the feelings spread out to fill the room. This I was expecting, the growl of pain from the end of the Cullens was not expected though.

My eyes flashed open and sought out Jasper. He was doubled over, arms wrapped around his chest like he was trying to hold himself together. The irony of his reaction was not lost on me as I had found myself in that position more often than not after Edward left. I wasn't done with Edward yet and now seeing Jasper that way, just made it all the more clear that Edward deserved so much more.

"Char." I snapped.

She was by my side instantly. "Whatcha need sug?"

"Go to Jasper. I can't pull this back from him. Do whatever you can that won't piss off Peter to counter what I'm sending out. You know why it's affecting him like that." I couldn't pull my eyes from the torment that Jasper was going through and it was all my fault. Why didn't I think about that before? Of course this would affect him more than the rest, all because of the mate bond and his gift.

Char moved quickly to Jasper's side and knelt in front of him, leaning in close to his ear to whisper God knows what. As she worked to calm his emotions, he snapped his head up and stared at me. The pain on his face almost sent me to my knees and then I looked into his eyes. His eyes were black with pain and were brimming with venom tears that would never fall.

"Peter, help your mate." I growled out while fighting to remain where I was. An overwhelming urge to make sure he was ok was creeping up through my control and I fought to beat it down. I couldn't give into that urge here, not yet. I knew Peter and Char would take care of him and I would deal with his anger later.

Turning back to face Edward, I saw the grimace on his face as he felt a compressed version of what I went through after he abandoned me. I started pulling the feeling back from everyone else, but I left it flowing into Edward, he needed to feel these emotions just a bit longer.

Sighs were heard throughout the room as everyone was released from my emotions. A few coughs were heard as well as if to cover up the uncomfortable silence, as what do you say after you felt that kind of pain?

"Isabella?"

I dropped Edward's hand before I could read his thoughts and turned to stare at Aro. I watched him stand from his throne as well as his brothers.

"Mia figlia, what did you do to us?" Aro asked as he placed a hand over where his dead heart lay.

I walked over to stand in front of him, just before the steps. "Those were my feelings from when Edward left me."

Caius held out his hand towards me. "Come here, piccola."

As I stepped to the side to take Caius' hand, I sensed movement behind me and turned around.

Edward had stepped forward with a snarl on his face. "She is not your daughter, Aro, she belongs to me."

I waited to see how Aro was going to respond, but still moved to stand closer to him just to be safe. Protecting the kings was one of my jobs as a part of the elite guard and I took great pride in their trust in my shield.

"I disagree, Edward. Isabella belongs to no one as she is not a possession." Aro waited for his response.

Edward was sending off waves of anger and possessiveness. "If she doesn't belong to you then I will be taking her with me when I leave. Her rightful place is at my side, not being a part of your collection."

I tensed at his words, ready to act if needed.

"Indeed, I believe you may want to rethink your position, Edward." Aro chuckled. "As I said, she is no one's possession and our deal is almost complete, but my dear Isabella is not one to suffer fools and she has quite the temper when riled."

"She is not yours!" Edward growled.

Seeing into his thoughts I knew what he was planning, so I leapt to stand in front of Aro so that I could protect him from the idiot before us. "You will not touch him, Edward."

"Why not? Why would you want to protect him when I know you love me?" Edward took a step closer.

Before I could respond, I saw Edward shift into a crouch and prepare to attack Aro, even with me in the way. Suddenly my focus was drawn to the side as I felt my heart cry out for my mate. He was emitting so much pain and anger it brought tears to my eyes. With my attention diverted, Edward decided to make his move.

Edward launched himself in my direction, but was knocked back onto his ass as he came into contact with my shield. Demetri and Felix were on him before he even landed. At the same time that he launched, Jasper moved to place himself between me and Edward to protect me. I stood in awe at how fast he had moved and then I watched as he crumpled in pain in front of me.

"Jane!" I growled at her. I ran to his side and placed my shield around him, shutting out Jane's powers. "Cowboy, are you ok?"

He looked up at me and I could see his confusion, need and anger still smoldering in the depths of his black eyes. Then as if nothing happened, I watched his emotions leave his eyes and I was met with a cold stare. Standing he watched me as I followed suit. "I am fine, Isabella."

"Glad to hear it, Major." Again, his anger hurt me, but I did what I could to hide my reaction as I had expected it. I needed out of that room and away from Jasper's anger. Turning away from Jasper, trying to ignore the pain it caused, I walked over to Aro. Stopping before him, I took a deep breath to calm down. "Aro, thank you for standing up for me like that."

"Of course Isabella, I could not stand by while he treated you so badly." Aro reached out and pushed a stray hair behind my ear, shocking everyone in the room. "Mia figlia, I do not want to see you hurt. What do you want me to do with Edward?"

Thinking about him made my jaw clench and I knew now was not the time to deal with him, it wouldn't be beneficial to anyone if I accidentally killed him out of anger. I wanted to handle him calmly. "Detain…"

Edward attacked me from me behind, having used my distraction with Jasper and then Aro as a way to get away from Demetri and Felix somehow.

Aro stepped back and watched us before him, motioning everyone to stay where they were. "Now, Edward, you will see what I meant about her temper."

I allowed Edward to pull me backwards as I didn't want to chance Aro getting caught in the fight. He managed to get his arm around my neck and tried to pull backwards to get me to stop fighting, but it only worked to anger me further. With a deep growl I jerked my elbow back into his ribs and threw my weight down to the floor, dropping out of his hold. Faster than anyone could see, I was behind him. Kicking the backs of his knees, I forced him down and in the next second I had his head tilted to the side and my teeth at his neck.

From start to finish, our little squabble lasted less than thirty seconds.

Aro clapped his hands as he always enjoyed watching me fight. "Alec, please incapacitate Edward so that Isabella can detach herself from him before she takes off his head."

I felt Edward twitch at Aro's words and I growled. "Don't move, Edward."

Alec was quick to spread his gift over Edward and I sighed in relief as I was able to let him go. With a last look into his glazed eyes, I stood and moved back to stand in front of Aro.

Aro gestured for me to join him on the dais, taking my hand as I joined him. "I shall not insult you by asking if you are alright, mia figlia. I believe dear Edward has hopefully learned his lesson where you are concerned. Speaking of Edward, what would you have me do with him?"

I looked at him, still seething over his stupidity while fighting to maintain my shields that I still had up. I was not going to deter from my original plan, even after his little stunt. So taking a deep breath, I answered Aro. "Detain him, but let him stay with his family."

"Are you sure?" Caius asked from beside Aro. "I believe he deserves much more than just detainment."

"Yes, Caius, being detained with Emmett and Rose ought to be a good start." I turned back around as he chuckled. "Carlisle, you all will have freedom in the castle as well as the ability to come and go. I did not summon you here to be held prisoner, I promise. Go hunt if you need to, but Edward stays here in your rooms. Felix or Jane will stay outside the room at all times. Do you agree?"

Carlisle looked astounded that I was giving orders and that Aro was letting me. "If that is what you wish, then yes, we agree to the terms. I hope that we will be able to talk later."

"There will be time for talking later, Carlisle. For now, I need to leave." I nodded to Peter and Charlotte and gave in to my emotions and ran from the room. I could not stand to be around Jasper and his anger any longer with the danger of my shields faltering. I fled to the stables and climbed up to sit on the roof, where I knew I would be left alone with my thoughts.

**JPOV**

I had watched as Bella ran from the throne room last night and was slapped in the face with her emotions. They were the first emotions that I had felt from her, pain, longing, hurt, and acceptance. I tried to follow her, but Peter held me in place and told me she would find me when she was ready to talk to me. Shortly thereafter, Aro dismissed us and I watched as Felix man handled Edward and dragged him to his room. After feeling Bella's emotions that she shared with everyone and then Edward's before he attacked, I was emotionally drained myself.

Thinking back on that, I was shocked to learn that Bella had to be an empath like me, otherwise I had no explanation for how she had us all feeling what she felt. So she was a shield, which appeared to be both mental and physical with how Eddie boy bounced back on his ass, and an empath. I had never met another empath so this was something new for me.

I continued to distract myself with thinking about her powers as I searched the castle for her. By the time the sun was rising, I believe I had searched the whole castle, but I still couldn't find her. But someone found me.

"Isa will be out at the stables right now taking care of her horse before she leaves for her morning ride."

I turned to find Jane standing behind me. "Her horse?"

"Yes, Major, she is the rider you saw yesterday riding away from the castle grounds. As I said, she goes at the same time every day unless she is out on a mission, which she will be here for at least the next few days as Aro wants to keep her close right now." Jane turned to walk away, but looked back over her shoulder first. "I am sorry for attacking you last night, I thought you were going after Isa and I couldn't let that happen."

I watched her walk away, confused by her apology and then confounded that I had watched Bella or Isa rather, riding her horse yesterday and I didn't even know it. As I made my way through the castle to head out the back entrance, I was even more confused, how I could have mistaken Bella for a human.

I stood in the trees just out of view from the fields in front of me. Thanks to my talk yesterday with Jane, I knew that Bella would be riding past any moment as she was still within the castle. Jane had confirmed this morning that she did not have any plans for any missions for at least the next few days. She had been avoiding me at every turn since the meeting last night with the kings and if I was being honest with myself, I wasn't quite sure how to handle that she has been a part of the Volturi all this time.

Shaking my head, I reminded myself that this was Bella, my Bella, and no matter what she had done for the past ten years, she was still mine and I was hers. I had felt a dull ache in my chest since I saw her alive and well last night in the throne room. The ache intensified as I watched her run out of the room after giving the orders to detain Edward. I suddenly remembered the giddiness and excitement that Edward had felt when Bella had turned around in the throne room and became visible to all of our senses. Then she had lost her temper with him, understandable as he had attacked her, and she was on him. As a human she had been so docile that she took everything Edward and Alice threw at her. As a vampire, there was not a single docile bone in her body, at least not where Edward was concerned.

The sound of hooves drew me from my thoughts and I caught sight of the big black horse bringing Bella closer to me. I only planned on following her in the hopes of trying to find out what happened to her since I last saw her and yes, I wanted to be close to her. The ache was unbearable now that I had found her. She had said that we were mates in her letter, but outwardly she hadn't shown the emotions I had expected.

I watched as the horse came to a stop about two hundred yards away and I wondered what Bella was doing. Looking past the head of the stallion, I saw that Bella was staring directly at me. I could not fathom how she had seen me, but as I had been caught, I decided to walk out of hiding. I stopped when I was in full view, about ten feet from the trees. I watched as a multitude of emotions crossed over Bella's face, she was blocking her emotions from me again, so I could only go based on what I saw.

Happiness, guilt, sorrow, love, trepidation all cycled across her face before settling into a mask of resolved determination. Without feeling her emotions, I had no clue as to what was going on with her. I had placed my hands in my pockets while I watched her emotions on her face and was not expecting her reaction to seeing me there.

One moment she was sitting motionless on the back of her horse and the next she had spurred him into a gallop heading directly at me.

The shock at seeing her charge me on horseback kept me from reacting and I could only stare in dismay and shock as my mate drew closer to running me down with her horse. My last thought before she was upon me was 'What the hell did I do to piss her off?' and then I was nose to nose with the giant stallion.

**Chapter song is Stay High by Tove Lo**

**Mia sorella = My sister **

**Non ti preoccupare piccina = Do not worry little one **

**Il mio protettore = My protector **

**Merda = Shit **

**Mia figlia = My daughter **

**Piccola = Little one **

**A/N – I am sorry if you guys aren't enjoying the cliffies, but that is just how this story is flowing right now. I can let you know that I am already well underway with the next chapter and there will be some one on one time with Bella and Jasper. I hope you guys are having as much fun reading this as I am writing it. And as I find this to be a quirky concept, if you have any questions for the characters, feel free to ask away, I will either have them respond to you or will add them in to the next chapter's opening A/N. Thanks again guys!**


	3. Flaws

**A/N – Thank you guys for your awesome reviews. I really enjoyed everyone's thoughts on what was going on and what was going to happen. There was a lot of concern for Jasper and the horse. I just want you to know that no horses (or Jasper) were hurt in the writing of this chapter. Side note, this chapter started out being super long at 20+ thousand words so I broke it down into 3 chapters, so if these seem a bit shorter than normal, now you know…so on to the story….**

**Disclaimer…I do not own anything other than my interpretations and any random OCs that I decide to toss in the mix**

When all of your flaws and all of my flaws

Are laid out one by one

A wonderful part of the mess that we made

We pick ourselves undone

All of your flaws and all of my flaws

They lie there hand in hand

Ones we've inherited, ones that we learned

They pass from man to man

There's a hole in my soul

I can't fill it I can't fill it

There's a hole in my soul

Can you fill it? Can you fill it?

You have always worn your flaws upon your sleeve

And I have always buried them deep beneath the ground

Dig them up; let's finish what we've started

Dig them up, so nothing's left unturned

Jasper – Can we get a move on please? I am really tired of staring down this damn horse.

Bella – Hey, be nice to my horse. I bet he's tired of staring at you too.

Me – Would you two chill out. You haven't seen each other for ten years so stop fighting.

Jasper – Tell that to the one trying to run me down with a horse.

Bella – I wouldn't be doing that if you weren't stalking me.

Me – Ok, you two, separate corners. Now or else I won't continue the story. And apologize.

Jasper – Yes, ma'am. Sorry, Bella, everyone. (moves to his corner, pouting.)

Bella – Sorry, Rahvin, readers. (grimaces at my glare before darting to her corner) Sorry Jasper.

Me – That's more like it. Now if you two are finished, on with the story…

My last thought before she was upon me was 'What the hell did I do to piss her off?' and then I was nose to nose with the giant stallion.

**BPOV**

From my perch on the stable's rooftop, I watched as the sunrise started to fill the courtyard outside of the castle. This was honestly my favorite time of the day as well as my favorite place in Volterra. Don't get me wrong, Volterra was beautiful in a creepy kind of way, but the stable was my solace as I was the only one who used them. Apparently I was the first resident of the castle that loved horses. That is why this was my safe haven; most of the vampires around here did not feel comfortable around my horse so they stayed away. Only a few would venture here and that was normally just to find me.

I do have to admit, my horse was rather large and domineering. It took me a while before I found the perfect horse for me. He was two years old when I found him and it was love at first sight. Demetri had taken me out to Messina just to placate me and my want for a horse as he knew I wouldn't leave him alone until I got one. The stallion was a rare find as one does not normally find Clydesdales in Italy. As Demetri went to speak with the rancher, I walked to the paddock that was setup and watched as the two horses there grazed and ran in the sun. One was a beautiful butterscotch colored mare with a blonde mane and tail. The other was a stallion and he took my breath away. He was jet black on his body with pure white boots, with a black mane and tail. What got my attention with him was the white blaze down the center of his face. Just watching them gave me a thrill as I knew how strong and big these beautiful beasts would get.

I leaned against the railing of the paddock and watched as they played, then the stallion stopped and I watched him put his nose up in the air, smelling his surroundings. As I watched he turned his head and I found myself staring into the most beautiful crystal blue eyes I had ever seen. He smelled the air again and then charged at me with a whinny, stopping only when he was mere inches from my face. Already he was a tall horse and he could have easily put his head over mine, but stopped so he could lean down and look into my eyes. Within moments he had nudged my shoulder playfully and began prancing around in front of me.

Demetri had been watching all of this and worked out a deal with the rancher. Two days later I impatiently waited as he was delivered to the castle. Ever since then, as long as I wasn't away on a mission, I spent every morning with him. If I needed to think or to get away from the castle, I would go and lean against his side as he slept. If I could have slept, I knew he would keep me safe. I knew part of my love for my horse was that it helped me feel closer to the man I left behind, my cowboy.

Rousing myself from my memories, I jumped down from the roof and walked into the stable. A whinny greeted me from the back stall and a smile crept across my face.

"I know, boy. I'm happy to see you too." I stroked his nose as I stopped in front of his stall. "Let me change and we will head out."

I headed to the back room where I always stored a spare riding outfit for times like this. There was no way I was going to run to my room to change; I really didn't want to talk to anyone right now, not after everything I had heard while on that roof. Most everyone had spent the night with their balcony doors open or out on their balconies. I didn't need to hear the conversations to know what everyone was talking about. Me. Carlisle and Esme were both talking about how shocked they were to find me here and alive. Carlisle, of course, wanted to sit down and talk to me about my time here and my change, the doctor in him couldn't be held back. Esme, my dear mother, just wanted to make sure I was ok. If I was being honest with myself, if anyone was to actually be able to see me from their balconies, I would have wanted it to be Esme. I really needed an Esme hug and I was almost tempted to sneak up to her balcony to get one. Then I reminded myself that she was sharing a room with the rest of the family and that was not something I could deal with right now. So I shut out their conversations as I didn't want to hear them discussing me anymore. I also had to admit to myself that I didn't want to hear what Jasper and Alice might be saying about me.

Coming out of my thoughts, I opened the locker and pulled out my clothes and boots. Quickly shedding my guard clothes, I pulled on my jeans and tucked them into my riding boots that hugged my calves. Next I pulled on a white camisole and topped it off with a blood red button down shirt that I left unbuttoned. Walking back out to the stall I rolled the sleeves up to my elbows and sighed in pleasure. This part of my day always made me feel closer to being whole.

Going up to the stall I opened the door and walked to the front of the stable where the tack was kept. Looking over the saddle I decided that I wanted to feel his muscles move as I let him race out to the country. Grabbing his halter off the wall I was about to turn around when I felt him nudge my shoulder. Turning I looked up into his violet eyes and had to laugh, who would have ever expected me to one, be a vampire and two, have such an amazing horse? I shook my head as I had an answer for both of those questions and it was the same answer too.

"Ready to go?" I asked as he leaned down for me to put the halter on. "Alright, let's go be free."

He started to walk past me and I swung up onto his back as we walked out of the stable into the courtyard. Without thinking I pulled my shield in tight around me as we walked through the courtyard to exit the castle grounds. Looking down at my arms as we moved, I saw how my skin no longer gave off the appearance of being made of diamonds and I sighed. I was happy that I was able to hide the shine, but I really just wanted to be able to just be me, without hiding my powers or emotions or my skin. I couldn't remember the last time I could completely let my guard down.

Having gone on this ride most every morning for the past eight years, I didn't have to worry about directing him out of the castle grounds. As we neared the trees I urged him faster, for some reason this morning I was more anxious to get away than normal so I was allowing my fear of rejection to guide my actions. Not wanting to think of why I was running away, I let myself flow with the movements of the horse beneath me. Soon we were exiting out the other side of the trees and I turned him so we were heading west along the tree line. This morning I needed to feel completely free so I was planning on letting him use all of his strength this morning to carry us away from the turmoil in the castle behind us.

A soft chuff reached my ears, drawing my attention back to my as he stopped at the top of a small hill, pawing at the ground in slight agitation. Looking around I didn't see anything at first that would have caused him to stop, but then I sensed anticipation and longing coming from the trees up ahead. Focusing on the feelings I finally saw him, his golden eyes fixed on mine. Seeing him standing there shocked me and I completely forgot to shield my emotions. It had been so long since I allowed myself to think about him that having him standing there caused me to have an emotional overload. Immediately the pull started in my chest and I barely kept myself from reaching up to rub the spot over where my dead heart lay.

I saw the confusion and surprise flit across his face as he realized I could see him and a sense of happiness and longing floated over to me as he walked out of the cover of the trees. He stopped about ten feet out and put his hands in his pockets and stared at me, waiting to see what I was going to do. Looking at him, standing there, sparkling in the sun, I wondered if Jake had been able to give him my letter. I shook my head at the ramblings that I wrote in that letter and hoped that he hadn't read it. I knew he was with Alice and he wasn't mine regardless of what my heart told me. I can only imagine the strain that letter would have put on his relationship with her and the thought that I had done anything to cause him pain filled me with sorrow and regret. To protect myself from the pain, I shut down my emotions and my ability to feel his.

I knew we were going to have to talk and it appeared that he was going to stand there and wait until I gave in so tucking away the wariness of the upcoming talk; I took a deep breath before leaning forward to whisper in the stallion's ear. His ears flattened and he pawed the ground again before charging right for Jasper. I did take a second to notice the shock on his face as I charged right for him. At the last possible second, I nudged his flank to veer to the right, leaned down and hooked my arm through Jasper's, swinging him up behind me. Fighting the urge to lean into him as he wrapped his arms around my waist, I guided us across the field and into the surrounding trees. Closing my eyes, I let my stallion pick his own way to our normal destination, opening myself up to Jasper again and just felt the emotions floating around me…until they were cut off that is. Why was he blocking me?

Deciding then that the ride was best done in silence, I opened my eyes and focused on the scenery passing us by until we reached the little clearing that I spent most of my mornings in. As we broke out of the trees, I slowed us down until we came up to the little spring fed pond on the other side of the clearing. I swung my leg over my horse's neck before he had come to a stop and slid down his flank with ease, leaving a baffled Jasper still astride my horse. A whinny reminded me that someone was not used to anyone but me riding him.

I reached up to pull the reins down over my horse's head to rest on the grass and pulled a few mints out of my pocket. Unwrapping them, I held my palm out with his treat. Reaching up I rubbed his nose affectionately as I heard him crunch on the mints. Leaning forward, I placed a kiss between his eyes. Pausing to rest my forehead on his, I relished the unconditional love that flowed from my horse, reminding me just how lucky I am to have found him.

"I had not pegged you for a horse lover." Jasper stated as he slid to the ground. Reaching up, he rubbed the powerful neck and ran his fingers through the dark mane. "Aren't these horses usually working breeds?"

"Well, I have always loved horses, but Rene and Charlie figured I would kill myself on one with my clumsiness so I was never allowed to ride before." I walked around to his other flank, putting him between me and Jasper, and leaned back on him as he grazed. Staring into the pond, I thought back to the days when I got my horse. "Getting a horse was something I talked about as soon as I was turned. Much to everyone's annoyance, Aro said I could get one. From that moment on, all I did was beg and plead with Demetri to take me out to find me a horse. Finally, he took me to a little place outside of Messina as I was very specific on what I wanted. Demetri had found two Clydesdale colts and we made the drive so I could look at them."

I turned around to look at Jasper over my horse's back, pure joy on my face and seeping through my shield as I let it drop. Out here I didn't have to hide who or what I was and it was just natural for me to drop my shields without any thinking once I got here. "I watched them play for a bit, and Major here picked me. Charged right at me only to stop and stare in my eyes. He was a big horse then, but I knew I had found my friend when he nudged me and started prancing around. Ever since then if I am home, Major gets the majority of my attention, much to Demetri's annoyance."

"You named your horse Major?" Jasper looked at me with a smirk on his face. The beginnings of a cocky grin started to form as he stared at me.

"Yes, it just seemed to fit." I wasn't going to tell him the real reason was because it felt more like a connection to him if I gave my horse a part of his name, the more he knew about my attachment to him as my mate the harder the rejection would be to recover from. I turned to walk to the edge of the pond and sat down. I wasn't sure what Jasper wanted and I needed him to be the first to speak so I could gauge what I would allow myself to say. He was my mate, but he was with Alice and I didn't want to cause him pain by coming between them, so I had to tread carefully. This was not about baring my soul to him, it was about answering his questions and that was it.

"So, you are Volturi." Jasper commented as he sat down beside me. "How?"

"Well that is a hard question to answer." I took a deep breath and put my shields back in place, this was not the time for him to be able to read my emotions as I knew I wouldn't be able to control them around him. " It has two answers really. First, Demetri found me one day in Seattle. I needed a break from everything that reminded me of all of you, so I spent a day out in Seattle. I was sitting in a coffee shop when suddenly this way too handsome man sat down in front of me. Demetri finds it funny that I groaned when I saw him. I mean, I was trying to get away from those memories and what happens? I manage to run into a new vampire. Just my luck right? Wrong. Somehow the Volturi knew about me, that I knew about vampires and was left human. Demetri had been sent to keep an eye on me and to take me if he could get me alone.

"That's what happened that day in Seattle. He explained everything that was going to happen, that I had to go before the kings and they would decide my fate. Even he didn't know the real reason why he had been sent to find me or so he told me, I didn't find out until after I was changed. But at that time I understood how the laws worked thanks to Edward and told him I would go with him, I wouldn't fight. I just needed a day to settle some things back home and then I would leave with him. He asked me why I was so accepting of what was to happen and I told him what had happened with Edward and everything I went through after you all left. He was furious by the time I finished my story and he agreed to meet me in Seattle the following day to take me to Italy. I promised him I would be there and left to go home for the last time. I didn't sleep at all that night, just sat and listened to Charlie snore in his room, packed a few things and wrote two letters. Well only one really and a short note I put on the fridge for Charlie. I knew he only needed the short and sweet good-bye from me as nothing I could say would have made it any better for him."

Jasper placed a hand on my shoulder, causing me to jerk back at the unexpected touch. "I saw the note you left him."

"You did? When? Wait, why were you in my house?" The questions spewed forth as I tried to process what he was saying. I couldn't understand why he would have been there. Demetri had told me that the Cullens never went back to Forks after they left.

Jasper turned to me and looked deep into my eyes. "I should be the one with all the questions, you know, but I will answer yours first. Just promise me you will answer mine."

I nodded, knowing that I truly couldn't deny this man anything. I sighed knowing how much Jasper could end up hurting me if he stayed with Alice. Even knowing that was possible, I couldn't bear the thought of not being around him ever again. "I am an open book to you Jasper, always have been."

He looked at me quizzically before reaching over and taking my hand in his. That moment was when I was really grateful that my powers were at my control, not me at theirs. I didn't want to invade his mind unless he invited me in as he would know the instant I did, the thoughts would flash through his mind as I read them. Reading his emotions was enough of an invasion for now, which he was still keeping them blocked from me. The only reason for doing so that I could think of is to keep him from projecting his feelings onto me.

"Now that answer needs some explaining." Looking down at our hands, he took a deep breath. "Well, the time I spent in Denali with the Cullens after Edward made us leave, yeah that time was hell for me. Once we got there, I started worrying about you and I tried to block it at first. I didn't want to be the one to cause any problems with the family or feed into the paranoia that Edward and Alice were feeding them about me. As the time went on, my worry started to turn into full on fear for you and regret that I allowed a spoiled brat give me orders. It all came to a head about a year after we left; I finally blew up and left. Packed my clothes, gave Em my Harley and just left. When I got to Forks, I went to your house, just to make sure you were ok, but to my utter amazement you weren't there.

"I broke in and checked your room, but I could tell that you hadn't been there for months. I checked for signs in the rest of the house that might tell me where you were and I saw the note on the fridge that you left for Charlie. I knew something bad had happened and that is when Jacob found me. I went outside and we talked, he told me about the time after we left and how it had affected you. Then he gave me this." Jasper reached into his back pocket and pulled out the envelope with his name on it.

I gasped. "You still have it?"

Without looking at me, he nodded. "It helped me to feel closer to you, like you were still alive."

"Did you read it?" I held my breath, unsure of what I really wanted his response to be.

"So many times that I have it memorized." He chuckled softly. "Pathetic right?"

"I don't think so." I looked out into the water, thinking about what that could mean. "I knew somehow that you would be the one to finally go looking for me. It took me an hour to write that letter to you."

"Did you mean what you wrote?" He asked, barely loud enough for my ears to pick up.

"I…" I looked at him then and found myself staring into his golden eyes. I could feel his worry and hesitation tinged with a bit of hope. I had promised to be an open book and I would not lie to this man who sat beside me. "Yes, I meant all of it. I didn't think before I wrote it otherwise I might not have written half of what I did. I'm sorry if what I said in that letter put any strain on your relationship with Alice. It was not my intention to come between you."

"So what you were hinting at is true?" He looked deep into my violet eyes, his look guarded.

"I was trying not to put any hints into that letter actually. My soul searching at that point should only have affected me. I'm sorry if it caused you any problems." I looked away from his eyes before I could see any answering pain or rejection reflected in them. I may understand how things were going to work out, but that didn't mean that it was going to be easy for me to accept. If he rejected me I would forever be subjected to this mating pull if he was close.

"Bella."

I shook my head. I couldn't help it. The fear of his rejection kept me staring at our hands.

"Bells, please look at me." He begged.

I had to look up as I had never heard Jasper beg before. I gasped at what I saw there.

Jasper dropped his block and let me feel his emotions, while keeping me trapped in his eyes. Hope, sorrow, relief, excitement, fear and love all flowed over me as I stayed transfixed by the pure adoration I saw in his eyes.

A little doubt managed to creep into my joy. "What about Alice?"

Annoyance crept into his emotions and I flinched. He smiled sadly at me when he saw it. "Bells, I left Alice when I left the Cullens. She left you behind too willingly and always stood up for Edward when I would argue with him about going back to check on you. She started distancing herself from me and I from her. We were divorced within a week of my reading your letter. Now answer my question."

"I…" I faltered. Could this really be happening? Was he really mine? "Yes, if you mean that I learned who my true mate was and that it's you."

"I have waited so long to find you." Jasper growled as he pulled me forward by the hand he still held. Settling me in his lap he cupped my face as he stared into my eyes. "I don't know why I had to wait so long for you, but now you're mine."

My shields dropped completely and I let my hope and love flow from me to surround us like a blanket as he leaned forward to place his lips on mine. I could feel the love he was feeling for me and I raised my arms to tangle my hands in his hair. Sitting there with him, I felt complete, I felt like I was finally home. I sighed with contentment.

Jasper took advantage of my sigh and deepened the kiss, exploring my mouth with his tongue. He growled low in his throat as I fought for dominance of the kiss and he let me win.

I moved closer in his embrace, pressing our bodies together as I explored his mouth. A growl escaped me as I welcomed the heat that only this man could create in my cold body. I was lost in this man and I honestly hoped to never be found. A whinny caught my attention though, causing me to pull back from the kiss. Looking around, I reached out with my senses and I could sense four vampires headed in our direction.

"Merda!" I growled. I placed a quick kiss on Jasper's confused face before disentangling myself from his lap. Standing I held out my hand to help him up.

Still confused, Jasper took my hand and was shocked at how quickly I pulled him up. "What's wrong?"

"We will have company in about a minute. Apparently the Cullens are out for a hunt. Or they are looking for us; if they are looking for us, I plan on not being here to be found as I'm not ready to give up our time. Major!" I called out.

Major turned his head from the oncoming company and trotted over to us.

Picking up the reins, I moved them over his head as I swung up on his back. I held out my hand again, this time asking him to join me on Major's back. "I believe I have more questions to answer."

Jasper smirked at me as he took my hand and swung up behind me. "Among other things."

Laughing, I leaned forward to whisper in Major's ear. "Alright, now is the time to show off what you are made of. Eseguire!"

"What did you just tell him?" Jasper whispered into my ear sending a shiver down my spine.

"Oh, cowboy, you better hold on tight. Major here is not your typical horse. I told him to run and run he will." I nudged Major's flanks and that was all he needed. He bolted for the other end of the clearing and we were just disappearing into the trees as the others came out the other side. I caught sight of a shocked Carlisle before the trees blocked our view.

Having Jasper pressed up against my back, I pulled us so we were leaning low over Major's neck. With another nudge, I reinforced the command. "Eseguire!"

Major picked his way through the trees until he found his way out of the patch of forest we were in. Coming out onto a clearing he gave in to the command and let his unnatural strength propel us across the field in seconds. Within minutes, we were miles away from Volterra and he had taken us to a quiet, secluded place at the base of the mountain range that could be seen from the castle. He slowed down as he neared a little area surrounded by trees.

As soon as Major came to a stop, I threw my leg over his neck and dismounted. Again leaving a very baffled Jasper still astride him. "Major, il mio carissimo amico, thank you for getting us out of there."

Jasper slid off his back and stared at me. "How in the hell did he do that?"

I laughed and took his hand, pulling him to a shaded spot and sat down. "I told you Major is a special horse. Without my knowledge, Aro decided that if I was to have a horse, this horse was going to be special like me and he spent a year giving him small doses of his venom. Not to make him anything other than a long living, intelligent and strong horse. Major seems to fully understand when I talk to him and as you just witnessed, he is incredibly fast just like us. Although I can still outrun him, but I am faster than most other vampires here. I have noticed that he does seem to have a rather strong protective drive when it comes to me."

"He...he is completely out of his mind." Jasper gasped out, sitting down beside me and looking over at where Major was grazing. His thoughts were clear to see as he tried to process what he just learned. "Did he have any idea what was going to happen?"

"Yes, he had done that before when he was first changed, before he became the king he is today. His horse lived for over a hundred years before it was killed." I smiled fondly as Major turned his head to look at me. "At first I was angry with Aro for risking his life like that, but now I'm just glad that I won't have to lose him any time soon. Other than Demetri, Major has been my only friend here. Well, until I gathered my guard that is."

"Ok, Bells, I think you have a bit more explaining to do. I promise I won't interrupt. Just start up where you left off the last time I interrupted." Jasper kept my hand in his and waited.

I took a deep breath, knowing this is where everything was going to get a little tricky. He was going to get the truth, but I still feared that it would be too much for him. Looking into his eyes, I continued where I left off. "Well, as I said I wrote those two letters that night. I left the one for Charlie under his coffee cup so he would find it when he came home from work for lunch. Then I packed my stuff in my truck and drove to the rez to find Jake. It took a few hours to convince him to take the letter and to keep an eye on Charlie. He might have known something was up, but I didn't stick around to find out. As soon as I had his promises, I left, saying I had to get back to the house to have lunch ready for Charlie. It broke my heart to lie to him after all he had done for me, but I knew it was safer that way.

"I met up with Demetri in Seattle as promised. He hid my truck and took me to the airport where a private jet was waiting for us. I slept most of the way to Italy due to the sleepless night I had had the night before. When we landed, he took me to the waiting car and that's when I met Felix. He reminded me so much of Emmett that I almost started to cry I missed him so much, confusing the hell out of them. Now they understand but back then they were clueless. Upon arriving in Volterra they took me straight to Aro's study where the kings were waiting for me. It was a very quick meeting. Aro asked me simply if I wanted to die or if I was willing to be changed. Even though I was expecting it, I was still shocked at how easily he asked the question. It amazed even me the lack of fear I felt standing there in front of them.

"Well you know that I wanted to be one of you, so that was an easy answer for me, even after the crap that Edward put me through. I still had hopes of spending eternity with my family and tolerating the controlling duo if need be. So I answered Aro with the truth, but I asked for conditions. Shocked him with my demands as he put it, but he ended up agreeing to my demands in the end. I found out two years later why he was so willing to make that deal with me." I paused to gather my thoughts, this is where it was going to get a little tricky.

"Ok, so I promised I wouldn't interrupt, but I get the feeling that you might not tell me the deal and I would really like to know what you asked for." Jasper asked as he lightly traced his fingers over the back of my hand, causing shivers to go up my arm.

I smiled at him. "Open book remember? I will tell you anything. Well, the deal was quite simple. I wanted to wait until I was twenty before I was changed, I wanted Aro to change me and I wanted to be the one to deal with the Cullens in regards to their treatment of me."

"Wait, I know I said I would stop interrupting, but I can't seem to help it. Was there a reason that you wanted to wait until you were twenty?" Jasper asked as he stared into my eyes.

I blushed, or I would have if I was still human. "I had hoped you wouldn't notice that. A lot of my decisions have been based on that soul searching I did and so did my age request. Partially I wanted a little bit more time as a human, but on the off chance that I got what I wanted, well I wanted to be the same age as my mate at the time of my change."

Jasper gasped at my confession. "How did you know how old I was when I turned?"

"I had been curious about it when I was initially talking about it with Edward after I had learned how old he had been when Carlisle changed him. He told me how old everyone was when they turned. I didn't remember anyone's age other than yours and Edward's. As I had hoped that one day I would at least be around you again, twenty just seemed like the right age to be." I ducked my head, embarrassed at my answer, not sure what he thought about the reasoning behind my choice.

"I… I don't know what to say." He paused as he thought about what I did for him. "Bella that is not what I expected. Then again, you seem to relish in amazing me at every turn still. My only response is to say thank you, that is such a small thing, but the fact that you were thinking of me when you made that decision, it means a lot." He leaned forward and captured my mouth with his, expressing his love for me in a tender kiss.

I pulled back with a smile. "Let me finish this before we get interrupted again. Now, as I was saying, Aro had already told me that the Cullens were going to have to be punished and I wanted to be in charge of that as I was the one that had been mistreated. I knew he would dole out something too harsh for the whole family when only one or two really deserved it. He agreed to my request as long as I promised to stay in Volterra for ten years and spend the last eight as part of his guard. He put that in there as he knew that I was going to be powerful and he told me so upfront. I was taken aback as he was not the Aro I had been told about by Edward and I found it very easy to admire Aro and his thinking. I agreed to his terms and he assigned Demetri to take care of me. He was to train me in everything that I would need to know to live in Volterra as well as to prepare me for my change.

"Demetri never left my side during those first two years, but if he had to leave for some reason then he had Felix work with me. Those two have become like big brothers to me and I really don't know how I would have gotten through those first years without them. Demetri more so. I was drawn to him and it took my turning to find out why, although he doesn't know and I am not sure if I should tell him or not." I saw the look on Jasper's face and placed a finger to his lips. "Don't ask, cowboy, I promise I will get to that later. Now, for those of the Volturi, Demetri is the only one I don't keep secrets from, I never have. I needed to have someone I could trust here and he was that for me.

"When it came time for my change, Aro explained everything that was going to happen and he promised that he would stay by my side the whole time and Demetri would as well. He wanted me to know that I wouldn't be left alone to go through the change on my own. I won't lie, it burned like the fiery pits of hell, but they each held my hand through the thirty six hours of my change. That is why I wanted Aro to change me, I figured with him having been a vampire for so long, his venom may have been more potent so would speed up the change. I was partially correct, but that wasn't the real reason that it went by so fast. As Aro explained afterwards, it had more to do with my lineage than his venom."

I turned to face Jasper and took both of his hands in mine. This is where it could get tricky and I wanted him to understand that I would accept his reaction no matter what. "I…I know that you may not like everything that has happened to me or what I have done over the past ten years. I have come to accept my lot in this life and I will also accept it if you are unable to accept certain things. I only ask that you listen to everything I have to say and you can make your decision when I'm done. Alright?"

"Bella, if there is anything I have learned over these last ten years is that I have a lot of patience and when it comes to you a very accepting nature." He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. "I will do as you ask and listen, but I already know what my decision will be."

He was staring so intently into my eyes and sharing his love for me. It almost made me believe that we would get through this without any issues, but I knew better than to give myself false hope, so I was just going to get this all out in the open and then accept whatever he told me afterwards.

"Mio amore, I hope that you can be accepting as I have waited for you for too long." I took a deep breath before going on with my story. This is where most would run for cover, I know Demetri almost did. "Well, after my change, I was of course treated to my first meal. Which I will admit this to you now, but I'm sure you could guess by my eyes, well if I am hungry that is, I'm not like you. I feed on humans, but I only do that with the knowledge that they were criminals already on their way to death row or they were caught in the act of their crime. I refuse to take an innocent's life, ever.

"So, once that was completed, Demetri took me to Aro's study as he had said there were a few things he needed to go over with me before I could get into my actual training with Demetri. This was, amazingly, the first time I had ever been alone with Aro and I was wary of what he wanted. Don't get me wrong, I knew he didn't want me in any sexual way; it was just unsettling the way he stared at me that night. It was almost like he was unsure of how to handle me as a vampire. He then did what I wasn't expecting, he told me about his life before his change and everything that had happened to him since then up to thirty years ago.

"He sat me down on the couch and sat with me, taking my hands in his, as he then told me that I was his daughter and not just because he was my sire. He told me that he had met Rene on a random trip through the Americas as he was supposed to be checking up on the southern vampires. Well, one thing led to another and Rene ended up pregnant with me. He knew that she was with Charlie as Rene cannot keep a secret to save her life, or so I thought, but they had been separated for a few months due to marital problems. Using that as their cover, he had her tell Charlie that she was pregnant with his child and that she wanted to get back together with him.

"The timing worked out as only months later, I was born. Aro kept an eye on me through Demetri. He sent him to check up on me a couple times a year to make sure that I was growing as a normal human child would and if he saw anything that would show my vampire parentage, then he was to bring me to Aro. As you well know, I was never brought here until after that debacle with Edward. Apparently something in my genes stopped me from growing like a hybrid, but I did pick up a few of Aro's traits, which I haven't even shared with him yet. I think I will have to, but I have spent eight years hiding it so it will be a touchy subject I'm sure.

"Well, I will go over that at the end. So after he explained everything, he had Demetri come in to confirm his part in watching over me, I did my best to believe them. I really did as what he had told me explained so much about my life before I met you guys. It was during a training session with Demetri where I sort of broke down. I had been thinking about how I wanted to know everything for sure and it was at that point that I learned I had Aro's gift. Demetri was holding my hand for comfort and suddenly I was seeing every thought that had ever passed through his mind. That was a lot to take in, seeing the thoughts of someone who had been alive for over a thousand years. After we both got over the shock of what happened, I needed to know if it was like Aro's where it automatically happened upon touching their skin. So I set out to find Felix and used him as my guinea pig. Needless to say I was quite happy to learn that I had to make a conscious effort to read someone's thoughts." I watched his face for any reaction to this gift but he just sat there waiting for me to continue.

"If it hadn't turned out that way, I'm sure everyone would have known about that gift by now. Although, even now I can't call that a gift." I paused, seeing the confused look on his face. "Ok, let me try to clear this up before I move on. It may appear that I have multiple gifts; I personally only think that I have three, but Peter tells me it's more like four."

Jasper growled low in his throat at the mention of Peter's name.

"Stop that. Only Peter can fully explain to you how he ended up in Italy, but as Aro said, they are not part of the Volturi guard, they are mine, just like Thorne, but we will get to him later. I will explain all of that later, let me get through this whole gifts mess and then you can have a chance to ask some questions." I took a deep breath and continued before he could comment. "Now, as you all had thought way back when, I am a shield. There are two parts to my shield, both mental and physical. That is where Peter and I disagree, he says its two, I say it's one with two sides. Either way, you saw both in action yesterday. Edward bounced off the barrier I put up to protect Aro and I kept the minds and emotions hidden of everyone in my guard."

"Quick question, sorry. I know you said to wait." He grinned sheepishly at my nod to continue. "So this physical shield, can it block your scent or your skin from sparkling in the sun?"

I looked at him, amazed that he picked up on that so quickly. "Yes, that's why no one knew it was me standing there, or Peter and Char, until I dropped my hood. How did you know about the skin thing?"

Jasper shook his head, looking dazed with an informational overload. "I saw you ride yesterday morning. I didn't know it was you though; Jane was there, she said that Isa rode at the same time every morning. I had no idea it was you, I just thought it was a human that could really handle a horse. Why does she call you Isa?"

I laughed. "Aro has tried to get everyone to call me Isabella, which you know I don't like that name, and would not acknowledge anything that had to do with me if someone called me Bella instead. So my guard took to calling me Isa to find a middle ground between us. Demetri, Peter and Char are the only ones here that call me Bella anymore."

Jasper smiled at me. "You seem to have the ability to get normally irritable vampires to like you. Jane doesn't like anyone except for her brother and Aro, yet when she talks about you, she smiles and appears to be genuinely happy. Final question and then you can continue. What do you want me to call you?"

"I…ah…" I stammered. "Whatever you want to I guess. I hadn't really thought about it."

"Well, I have an idea." Jasper smiled as he pulled me onto his lap. "How about mine?"

**All translations below are Italian as they were in the prior chapter. If another language pops up later I will let you know.**

**Eseguire – Run**

**Il mio carissimo amico – My dearest friend**

**A/N – Ok, so what do you guys think of what has happened so far? I am not sure what Jasper will end up calling Bella…he seems to like to use all the variations of her name. If you want to give any input or ideas…review review review. Also, I decided to see what the response would be so there is now a page on FB for this fic. If you search for Bella & Jasper – Love Under a Blood Moon, you should find it. There will be updates, might do polls, you can offer suggestions, maybe request scenes. I'm not sure yet. The FB page is open for suggestions on what all will be done with it. But please, go give it a like and hopefully we will get it rolling in not time…just like this story Thanks for reading and reviewing…you guys are awesome!**

**Oh and currently editing the next chapter so it shouldn't be long before it's posted. Also, if you are interest, I have started a new Bella/Jasper story called Darkness and it will actually have some tie ins with this one…dun dun dun**

**Song for this chapter – Flaws by Bastille**


	4. Heart and Soul

**A/N – Ok, so here is the second part of the really long chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed the first part to learning about what Bella went through. Hopefully we will get some resolution to what is going to happen between Jazz and Bells in this one. I do really want to give a quick shout out to one Lady Skyelite for being my awesome reviewer and asking questions that get my brain going on things that could happen.**

**Disclaimer….not my sandbox, belongs to Stephenie Meyer, I'm just making a mess and may be tossing in a few OCs here and there.**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
You own the lock and the key  
For the window to my soul  
Yeah, that's the only thing you talk about  
You gotta let me know**

Cause it must have been something  
Out of control  
Yeah, it must have been worth it  
Cause I had nothing left to show  
How you put my life in your hands

When you open up your heart and your soul  
Take my love and never grow old, yeah  
Open up your heart and your soul  
Cause if you're looking for something to love  
You've gotta let me know

Bella – Did you hear that Rahvin? He said he wants to call me his.

Me – Yes, dear, I heard and I'm happy for you.

Jasper – What are you two going on about over there?

Me – Nothing, cowboy, you just go back to riding Major.

Bella – Wait, he calls me his and then goes and takes my horse? Is that all he wanted then?

Me – Isabella!

Bella – (flinches) What?

Me – Would you stop being stupid? He wants you to be his, isn't that enough? Let him have some fun with Major, you can share.

Jasper – You girls sure you're ok over there?

Me – Yes, cowboy, I will settle her down for now, just hurry up with your riding.

Jasper – Ah, yes ma'am, I'm done. (Rushes over to hold Bella)

"Well, I have an idea." Jasper smiled as he pulled me into his lap. "How about mine?"

**BPOV**

"You still want me? Even knowing who my father is and that I don't eat bambi?"

"Yes, my love, I still want you. I told you, where you are concerned, I am very accepting. I had already thought about your eating habits before I arrived here. I was more shocked that you didn't have pure red eyes than the fact that you have beautiful violet eyes. If you still want me then I will eat whatever you do. I know how to handle your diet, regardless of what everyone else thought. It is possible to shut myself off from feeling emotions that aren't my own."

I still didn't believe what he was trying to tell me. "Changing your diet is one thing. I am in the elite guard. I get sent out on cleanup missions with Demetri. I have done things that would make Carlisle turn his back on me. I have…"

He kissed me quickly to stop my rambling. "Bella, my Isa, it doesn't matter. I know your heart and I know you wouldn't do anything without knowing it was right. I accept you for you. You know my past? I bet Peter told you everything." He chuckled as I nodded." He always was one for meddling. You could not have done anything worse than me. So if you can accept me I can do nothing less than accept you. I plan on doing more; I plan on loving you for as long as you will have me."

I was stunned, he was right, it wasn't possible for me to have done anything worse than what he did while under Maria's control. This man, the one I had been waiting to hold for over ten years wanted me. Suddenly I couldn't stop smiling. I moved to straddle his lap and I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in the crook of his shoulder. Smelling his scent that was unmistakably Jasper, I noted the scent of warm leather laced with hints of tobacco. I nuzzled his neck, needing to feel his skin on mine. I felt a random urge to bite him, which at first I didn't understand and then I remembered what Peter told me might happen. I wanted to claim him as my own and leave a mark for everyone to see.

Fighting the urge to bite, I placed kisses along the side of his neck, hoping that would tame the urge if just a little bit. I felt his arms tighten around me, holding me close to his chest, as he leaned his head down to nuzzle my neck. I tilted my head giving him more access.

Jasper placed kisses on my neck like I had done to him before. He moaned against my skin as I ran my fingers up the back of his neck and buried them in his hair. His arms tightened around me even more, keeping me in place as if he thought I was going to pull away from him.

I tugged on his hair and smiled as he growled back at me. His answer to the hair pulling was to run his teeth along the side of my neck, causing shivers to run down my spine. He must be feeling the urge to bite too, I thought. Did he want to claim me? Did he want me to claim him? All of these feelings were so new to me and confusing.

"Bella." He moaned my name. "I can feel your emotions like a whirlwind spinning out of control. I want you; no I need you to be mine."

I moaned and nibbled on his neck. "Jasper, I have waited to hear you say that for so long. I need you too. I can feel you under my skin. You haven't heard my whole past though; don't do something you might regret later."

He leaned back with a growl and pulled my head away from his neck. "Stop. Just stop. Listen to me and listen well, Isabella. I love you, not for who your father is or for the things you have done. I love you for you if I am being honest. I think I knew deep down that we were mates even before Edward went stupid on us. I was always drawn to you, which is most likely why Alice and Edward worked so hard to keep us apart. They had to have known something, but I always found a way to be near you. I thought it was because you were so confusing in your responses to us, you never reacted to things like a normal human would and that always baffled me. Now that I have had quite a bit of time to think on it, I can tell you that if you had not disappeared I would have found you and changed you myself. What I was feeling in Denali was the mating pull trying to get me to you and I have been following it for the past ten years. The only thing I would regret is if I let you get away from me again. Do you understand what I'm telling you, Isabella?"

I looked deep into his dark golden eyes. I reached up and brushed his hair off of his handsome face and appreciated the fact that he didn't flinch at the contact. "My cowboy, I still remember giving you that nickname. You have been my southern gentleman ever since that day and you have always had a place in my heart, I just never noticed you there before you all left. I love you so much and nothing I have felt before can even compare to what you make me feel. I do understand what you are telling me, I do, but there is still a part of me that is afraid. Afraid that once you hear all that I have done and what I have become because of it you will want nothing to do with me and leave. Afraid that at any moment, I will wake up and find that none of this ever happened; I don't think I could handle either of those happening."

Jasper started to respond, to argue with me, but I put a finger to his lips, stopping him. "Jazz, my cowboy, what I say is not from a lack of faith in you; you are my mate, the one I love. It comes from a lack of faith that I am worthy. I didn't feel worthy back then with Edward and if I am being brutally honest, a part of me still feels that way now."

Jasper sighed against my finger before kissing it and leaning back. "Bella, if anyone is unworthy it is me. There is nothing that you could have done in the past ten years that is worse than what I did, so I guess I should have the same fear that you will leave me, but I don't. I can feel your love for me and your acceptance of my past. I know that if I give myself to you, I will finally be complete. I know you are an empath like me, so feel my emotions and tell me that what I say isn't true."

I looked at him and knew what he said was true. I closed my eyes and opened myself to feel his emotions. Suddenly I was surrounded by his love, admiration and acceptance. It was still so baffling to be accepted like that without having to explain myself as I knew that I would have to do that with anyone else. "Those are the best emotions that I have felt since I changed. I…thank you"

Jasper leaned forward and captured my lips with his as he held me close to him. It was a kiss to express the love we had just expressed for each other. I knew by the gentleness that he was showing me that he was trying to help me understand how he felt about me. I was the one who deepened the kiss, bringing the passion that I felt for him back to the front. The love I felt for him only enhanced the passion for me.

I was lost in the kiss, in the feeling of his mouth pressed on mine, our tongues fighting a battle for dominance that both of us were willing to give to the other. As we kissed, Jasper moved us so that I was lying on my back in the grass with him pressed along my body, fitting us together like two pieces of the same puzzle. Looking up into his beautiful golden eyes, I smiled as he pulled back from the kiss and brushed the hair out of my face.

"I love you, Isa." He smiled down at me. "I am just going to have to try them all out before I figure out which one I like most."

"Sounds like a good idea, cowboy. I'm sure I will answer to whatever you choose." I decided that I needed to finish telling him about the last ten years of my life, so I flipped us. I was now lying on his chest with my head propped up on my hands, looking down into his shocked face. "Remember, I'm faster and stronger than I look."

He smirked up at me and my world moved as he chuckled under me. "I see that. Maybe we will have to spar one day and I will get to see what all you have been taught."

"I'm sure that can be arranged and I promise that I won't hurt you too badly." I said with a wink and he frowned up at me. I spent the next hour or so going over the training that Demetri and Felix had given me in life as a Volturi guard as well as the different missions I went on. Aro had started me off on simple ones, usually just fact finding missions and then he moved me up to where I was actually doling out the Kings' justice. I had been worried about telling him about that first time where I had to dole out justice as I had expected it to affect me more than it had. I mean, the first time you take the life of another of your kind, it should leave some kind of a mark right?

"That mission was eye opening, more introspectively than worldly. There was a pair of nomads roaming through Oklahoma and they were being anything but discreet in their feedings. Rumors had made their way to the kings and they decided this would be the best way to see if I could handle my role in the guard. Demetri and I were dispatched to Oklahoma that night to track down the nomads. Now, I should tell you, that at this point, I had already told Demetri all about my soul searching and who my mate was supposed to be. He offered to find you for me so that we could be together, but I figured it would be harder for you to deal with me during my years as a guard than to spend your time with your family. Remember, I only just found out you weren't with Alice anymore.

"Now, with that being said, any time that we left Volterra for a mission, I made sure to have Demetri track you so that I could make sure that we didn't run into you. I didn't want to interfere in your life as I wouldn't be able to stick around. I naturally thought you would have the same fears of Aro as Edward did so that was another reason that I stayed away. I was afraid that once you learned he was my father you would be afraid of me too. So yeah, long story shorter, thanks to Demetri, I have known where you were for the most part of the past eight years. Don't think that I didn't and don't still feel guilty over that, as it was one of those controlling type things that Edward always used on me, the 'I know what's best for you' bullshit, but it is what it is.

"Anyways, back to the nomads. Once we reached Oklahoma and I knew you were a safe distance away in Canada, we set out searching for the two I was sent to deal with. It wasn't hard to find them, well I should say, it wasn't hard to find a pair of nomads, but they weren't the ones we were tracking. I didn't know that at first, but thankfully I learned who they were and why they were there before anything happened. With their help, we were able to track down the two in question. We found them on a farm just outside of Broken Arrow. They weren't bothering to clean up after themselves at that point. They had slaughtered everyone on that farm, the workers, the family that lived there and all of the animals. There was only one survivor when we got there and I could only imagine that she had been praying for death for a while.

"I will just say that the nomads had been toying with her for days. Using her body for their own pleasures and then they had started drinking from her. When they saw us arrive they came out to meet us, thinking that they wouldn't have any problem dealing with us and then would go back to the girl. What they didn't know was that Demetri had circled around the back and had come across the girl before coming up on the nomads from behind. He put her out of her misery before joining us. With Demetri at their backs and the three of us in front of them, they decided to bolt in two different directions, hoping to outrun us. Remember from earlier when I said I was faster than Major? Well as the nomads split, I threw my shield around the woman, holding her in place and bolted after the man. He was fast, like Edward, but I was faster.

"He had made it about three hundred yards before I had him pinned to the ground. I managed to manhandle him back to the group and put him next to the woman, letting my shield hold them both. I went over the reasoning for why I was there and allowed them the courtesy of trying to defend themselves. I had thought that it would be hard to dole out the justice, but I had seen firsthand what they had done, what they would do again if left alive. So without a second's hesitation, I separated them from each other and took their heads and burnt them both. Even now I wish that I could say that I felt something that day or since, but I knew it had to be done and it was my job. It's hard for me to accept sometimes but that wasn't the only time I was the hand of justice for the kings and I doubt it will be the last."

Jasper reached up and cupped my face, bringing it closer to his. "You are still my Bella, just a bit tougher and less delicate. I understand more than you know the feelings or lack thereof you have experienced since you turned. I went through that with Maria. I am still here with you, I will not leave you and I still love you."

I looked into his eyes, feeling a new sense of understanding for this man beneath me. I knew that as mates go, I was the luckiest woman out there to have this man as my mate. It seems we were really made for each other. "I love you too, cowboy."

He gave me a quick kiss before letting me pull back. "So, I take it that pair of nomads you came across first would be none other than my missing siblings?"

I sighed. "Yes, Peter and Char found me more or less and explained what was going on with the other nomads, thanks to Peter and his just knowing shit. When that was over, he explained who they were in relation to you and that they had to be with me. Though he did throw quite a fit when he found out I was going back to Volterra. It seems that Peter and Aro don't really like each other since Peter doesn't put up with anyone's shit and wouldn't join Aro's collection as he put it. So I found a way around it and they came back with me as the start of my guard."

"Aro said something about them being yours and that he couldn't get rid of them."

"Yes, as soon as we returned and Peter had it out with Aro about not being one of his collectibles, well Aro tried to throw both of them out of Volterra. When I stepped up and told him they were my guard, Aro merely raised an eyebrow at me. I knew I could get away with most anything where Aro was concerned, but this one was a stretch. But I did mean it when I said they were mine and what I said regarding what's mine goes. Kind of like where the mate bond works that no one can come between two mates, well, no one can come between me and my guard now." I looked down, not really wanting to explain that bit.

"So how many are there in your guard?" He asked as he played with my hair.

I chuckled as only a certain few were truly mine. "Well, there are only three that are mine, but my guard consists of seven total."

"Will I get to be privy to this knowledge?" Out came the southern drawl.

"Oh don't start trying to charm me, cowboy. You already have me. Although I do love that accent of yours." I laughed at his annoyed look. "Stop it, you know you have me and I will tell you anything you want to know. The only one of my guard you haven't met is Thorne, but as I mentioned earlier, his is a story for another time."

"Well, at least I know something that will work on you, ma'am." He smirked as he leaned up to capture my lips in a very passionate kiss. Pulling my head down with him as he laid back down, he moved along my jaw to the right side of my neck. Finding the spot where my pulse once was, he began to suck and nibble on the skin. "You are mine, cowgirl."

I shivered at his possessive growl, feeling the need burn in me again to be claimed, to do the claiming. I ran my hands up his shoulders and into his hair, holding him to my neck. "Yes, cowboy, yours and only yours."

He growled low in his throat and I felt his teeth break skin. I moaned in pleasure, knowing I would bare this mark forever and everyone would know I was his. My body burned with desire as his venom coursed into my veins. He pulled back with a growl and licked the bite closed, causing me to whimper at the loss of the closeness.

Jasper looked into my eyes with a satisfied yet loving smirk. "Mine."

"Yours." I responded as I leaned down to claim his mouth in a kiss of fierce passion. I forced my tongue into his mouth and dominated the kiss. His mouth tasted of him with a hint of my venom still lingering from the claiming bite. At his moan, I pulled away to kiss along his jaw to nibble on his ear. "Mine."

He growled at my whispered claim. "Yours, Isa, only yours."

Nuzzling his neck, I kissed my way down the right side of his neck stopping over his nonexistent pulse point. I licked the skin and grinned as I felt a shiver run down his body. Still holding onto the back of his head, I slowly bit down, breaking the skin. As his venom flowed over my tongue I growled in pleasure. I had never tasted anything that amazing before, I thought as I forced my venom into the bite. Suddenly I realized what we were doing and I moaned as I pulled back enough to lick the bite closed.

Jasper pushed my head up, away from his neck and growled as he looked in my eyes. "Yours, Isa. I am yours forever."

"Yes, cowboy, mine." I leaned down and licked his lips before kissing him. I moved to straddle his hips and I ground down on him, causing him to buck up into me in response. "Yours, cowboy. I want no other. I need only you."

"Oh, Isa, I want you, need you, but not out here." He groaned as I rocked onto him again. Sliding his hands down my back he gripped my waist, trying to hold me still.

I smirked at him as I rocked down on him again. "We might want to move to my room then."

"We have time, love; I'm never leaving you again." He leaned up and claimed my lips again, taking complete control of the kiss.

Lost in the kiss, I wasn't fully aware of our surroundings until a heard my name being yelled in my direction in my thoughts.

_Bella! I know you can hear me you stubborn woman. Where the hell are you hiding?!_

I jerked up and looked back in the direction that we had come. Scanning the area, I didn't see anyone or sense anyone yet, but it was only a matter of time before that ass found me.

Jasper noticed my actions and stopped his movements. "What's wrong?"

I growled low and looked back down at him. "There is an annoying interruption heading our way and I think it's about time I dealt with it."

"Lead the way, cowgirl." He pushed me up off him till I was standing over him.

Smiling down at him I offered him my hand. "We will definitely be continuing this later."

Jasper stood next to me, looking around, still not sensing anything.

_Where are you woman? Stop hiding and show yourself._

"Merda!" I growled low. "I have had it with him. Major!"

Major started trotting over to us at hearing his name. He could sense my annoyance and knew that it was time for him to act as an extension of me.

I started stalking towards Major, getting more and more furious with each step. "That pain in the ass half-witted vampire. I will teach him to give me orders and then interrupt me. Cowboy, pick up the pace."

Jasper was beside me in a second, taking my hand in his. "I think I have an idea who is annoying you, Isa. Let me deal with my brother. He deserves a pounding from me for his absence."

Major stopped in front of me and nuzzled my shoulder. Grabbing the reins, I swung up on his back and automatically offered Jasper a hand up. As he got settled behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, I didn't even bother to respond to him. I was so angry I was beyond the point of thinking straight. "Major, eseguire!"

Like a bullet out of a gun, Major shot out of the little tree enclosed area and headed back toward the castle. Within a minute he decided on his own to come to a stop as a figure appeared to our right. Looking over, I saw Charlotte staring at us with a worried look. "Go to her Major."

Again, Major took off after turning to aim for Charlotte. As he drew nearer to her, he slowed down until he stopped next to her.

"Bella. He has been looking for you for hours." She huffed at me. "Jasper."

"Charlotte." Jasper leaned over and ruffled her hair in a brotherly way.

"Char, your husband is getting on my last nerve. He better be damned happy that I claimed you both or else he would be thrown out on his ass. You, I would keep. Now I have to go deal with him. Again." I looked down at her, silently conveying to her what I needed her to do, thankfully she nodded.

"Sug, he does that to all of us. Just try to leave him in big enough pieces so that it will be easier for me to put him back together when you're done."

Jasper looked between the two of us, confusion clear on his face.

Turning slightly, I placed a quick kiss on his mouth and gave him a shove off the back of Major at the same time that Charlotte leapt over to grab him. "Thanks Char. Try to keep him here, please."

"Isabella, just what the hell are you doing?" Jasper growled at me from his position on the ground, pinned down by Charlotte.

"Well, Major, I am about to give you that demonstration that you asked for." I nodded to Char. "I am going off the other way. Try to get your husband more this way so I can at least be close to Jasper. I don't want him completely freaking out while I tear Peter a new one."

"Of course, Sug." Char looked down at Jasper and grimaced. "Let's just get this over with quickly as I don't relish being on the receiving end of Jasper's anger."

I looked down at Jasper and she was right. He was close to seething in his anger on the grass. "Trust me, Jasper; this is the best way for you to see what I'm capable of and for Peter to get what's coming to him." With that, I nudged Major and he took off across the field to the other side of trees. There we sat and waited for Char to lure Peter out into the open.

"Peter! You get your ass out here and help me deal with Jasper." Char yelled into the trees around her. "You're the one that pissed him off and you need to fix it."

"Ah babe, don't be like that." Peter said as he walked out of the trees near them. "I only did what I thought was best for his happiness."

"Peter, you asshole, what the hell have you been playing at?" Jasper yelled from his spot on the ground. "Char, please get off of me so that I can tear Peter limb from limb."

"Now I do believe that is Bella's job here lately." Char snarked as she stayed sitting on Jaspers' chest. "Peter is only oh so good at pushing her buttons and then I have to play peacekeeper."

"Come on, Char, Bella won't hurt me. You know she loves me which is why I got away with that stunt last night." Peter started and then whipped around with a look of pain on his face. "What?"

"I believe, dear, that is the woman you say won't hurt you coming to hurt you." Char said.

I had listened to their banter from the trees and had about reached the limit of my patience. Peter was running his mouth as usual and I really needed to let off some steam before trying to run him down with Major. So I focused on him and sent him a wave of pain like Jane would and waited. It didn't take long; as soon as the pain hit him he flipped around, looking for the culprit. I laughed quietly as I heard Char's response. I just needed Peter to head in my direction so that I could be assured there was enough space between him and Jasper that it would stay just us before I caused him bodily harm.

"You might as well go look for her, the longer you let her fester the more pain you will be dealing with later." Char laughed at Peter's growl. "Don't give me that, you know its true."

"Damn women, always ganging up on me." Peter mumbled as he started walking away from the couple on the grass. "Jasper, I am damn glad you are here to even out this estrogen fest."

"You keep pissing off Isa and I doubt my help will do you any good, as I will side with her."

"Well, shit, I guess I can expect no help from you then." Peter stomped away, heading for me.

I waited a bit longer. I knew that he was aware that I was around, just not where I was. I just needed him to get farther from Jasper before I moved. If he figured out how mad I really was he might decide to run, even though he knows that it won't do any good. I smiled as he finally got about halfway to me and I decided to act. I leaned down flat on Major's back and whispered in his ear. "Major, eseguire!"

"Wait." Peter said and turned back to look at Char. "She's on her horse isn't she?"

Char smiled at him and nodded. He turned back around the second that I broke out of the cover of the trees. Although he couldn't see me, so he at first just thought that Major was on his own.

"Jasper, sit up, you will want to watch this. Keep a close eye on Major." Char said and moved.

Sitting up, Jasper snorted. "Well, I see Major, what am I watching for?"

The closer I got, the better sense I got of Peter's growing fear. I couldn't see it on his face, but I could feel it. He knew something wasn't right and I was most likely using one of my many tricks to get him. He finally seemed to sense I was there as he turned to run. "Oh shit. Damnit Bella!"

I could just see him running ahead of Major and I smiled knowing I was almost on top of him. I looked to the side to see Jasper standing next to Char watching as Major chased down Peter. Jasper was watching every move that Major made as he closed in on Peter and it seemed almost like he could see me when the others couldn't. I was cloaked on Major's back to rattle Peter as I knew he didn't like being chased down by a giant horse. I caught Jasper's eye and winked at him, his jaw dropped. That made me realize he hadn't noticed that he was watching me on Major. I knew Char couldn't see me and Peter was too scared to turn back and look.

Major was about twenty yards from Peter now. All I heard was the wind rushing by my ears as I focused on Peter. With a final nudge, Major added a bit more strength to his speed and we were nearly on top of Peter. Tapping Major's left flank, he veered off in that direction giving me a wide opening which I took. With only ten yards between us, I used the speed from Major to help launch myself at Peter. As I collided with Peter, I wrapped my arms around his chest, pinning his arms to his sides as I carried us into a roll with my momentum.

"Holy hell, Bella." Peter groaned as he rolled over and over.

As we came to a stop, I had managed to plant him on the ground under me with my arms and legs pinning his limbs in place, but I was now facing him nose to nose. He had a clear view of how irritated I was with him and he had the decency to flinch. "Don't bitch, Peter, you did promise I could beat you for your stunt yesterday."

Attempting to take a breath, he shot a glance at Char and Jasper who just stood there staring, before looking back at me. "Well, Bells, I had hoped you would forget."

"Not likely." Char quipped from next to Jasper, who still looked shocked.

"I don't need your help, woman." Peter snapped at her.

"You should know by now, you ass, I don't forget when you piss me off." In a blink I had leapt up from my position and was standing about ten feet away. "Get up, Peter. I refuse to kick your ass while you lay on it."

Peter looked at me, then over at Jasper and then back at me. "Are you trying to show off for the Major?"

"No, Peter, I promised you a beating and after you decided to shout in my head looking for me, I figured you really needed to be beaten." I was going to wait for him to get up; there was no way that I was going to attack him while he was still lying on the ground. I may be upset with him, but I still had my morals. "Get the hell off your ass, Peter."

Peter looked around sitting up, grimacing when he saw Major standing about a hundred yards away watching him. "Why doesn't your horse like me?"

I laughed. "He likes you just fine, Peter, when you aren't pissing me off."

"Which is never." Char quipped again next to Jasper.

Jasper looked from Bella to Peter and back, not sure who he should yell at first or if he should just sit back and watch Bella get her ass beat. Having Char pin him down, at Bella's orders no less, did piss him off. He decided he was just going to stand back, watch and wait for Bella to ask for his help to deal with his brother.

I laughed as I listened to Jasper's thought process and sent him a wink, causing him to look at me with confusion. "Cowboy, you still have a lot to learn about me. I have changed a lot in the past ten years and I really can hold my own. Now, Peter, if you would kindly stand up, you can get your ass beat and we can show Jasper here how much I don't need to be protected anymore."

"At least something good can come of this then." Peter grumbled as he stood up, brushing off his jeans and shirt. Straightening, he gave me a look of apology. "I am sorry, Bells." _NOT!_

I growled and sunk into a crouch. "You will be Peter."

_Bring it on, buttercup!_

I thought about cloaking myself again, but that would take the fun out of it. When it came to Peter I really did like to see the expressions on his face as he watched me come at him. With a last look at Jasper and a wink, I launched at Peter. He saw me move and braced for impact, expecting a frontal attack. At the last second, I darted to his side and kicked at the backs of his knees. He went down on his knees with a groan and I was back in my starting crouch before he even looked up.

_Show off!_

"Nope, just thought I would change things up a bit. You were expecting me to come at you from the front so I didn't." I slipped further into my crouch as I watched him stand back up, completely oblivious to the looks over the seemingly one sided conversation. "Why don't you attack me this time old man?"

"Oh dear, she must be really sporting for a fight." Char laughed to herself.

"Why?" Jasper asked, still trying to figure out how Peter had been so easily taken down.

"That is the quickest way for Bella to piss Peter off. He likes to think he can take it easy on her and get away with it. She always knows when he is going soft and claims its due to him being so old." Char let out a loud laugh at the look on Jasper's face. "Yes, I understand the implications to our ages as well, Major, but she only does it to Peter. And he falls for it every single time."

"So this is a game to them?" Jasper asked. "Does Bella ever win?"

I gave an indignant snort at his question. "Jasper, I find your lack of faith in my abilities disturbing. So, Peter, please attack me so that Jasper here can see first-hand who wins our battles."

"Can't we get someone else to be your target practice?" Peter grumbled as he prepared. "I mean we have at least one guy in the castle that could use a good beating."

"He will get his Peter, you know that. Right now, you need to learn to stop yelling in my head." I snapped at him as I waited for him to attack. "Anytime old man."

"That's it. Be prepared to go hunting for some limbs, Jasper. I am not going to go easy on your woman." Peter growled and charged at me.

I had time to smirk at his direct approach before I stepped to the side allowing him to grab my arm. I used his forward momentum to swing me around onto his back and had my teeth in his throat before he took two more steps.

"Arghh!" Peter screamed. "Bella that shit stings. Why did we ever agree to your claiming bites again? It's like it just gives you a place to keep attacking me."

I released my hold on his neck and grinned. "You agreed to it as you said you had to stay by my side for some insane reason and you two refused to join the guard. The bite was the only way to make sure Aro couldn't mess with you two."

"Damnit. I hate it when you are all logical like that." Peter grumbled and then reached back quickly throwing me off of his back. Following the path I was sent, he was ready to catch me as I came down.

I was not expecting him to grab and slam me into the ground, which was something new. Peter hadn't been able to surprise me in a while. Staring up into his face, I grinned. "Who is showing off now?"

Peter chuckled and offered me his hand to help me up. "Think we both are, buttercup."

I took his hand, but instead of being pulled up, I pulled him off balance and switched our positions. He had his face in the dirt and I was perched on his back, smiling. "Well you can show off all you want, old man. I will still win."

A growl was the only signal he gave as I was suddenly flying straight up with a screech, only to land on my feet a few yards away from him. Not stopping to plan, I launched at him, his eyes wide before he crouched low. He darted at me, trying to catch me off guard, but it didn't work. As I neared him, I grabbed him by the shoulders, pinched his side hard causing him to yelp then launched him across the field.

Looking to see where he was going to land, I darted to the spot and waited. I caught his leg as he tried to kick out as he came down and threw him with such force that he soared between Char and Jasper to connect solidly with a tree about twenty feet away. I looked at Char and she just raised her eyebrow at me, silently asking if I was done with her husband yet and I shook my head.

Char laughed. "Well, if you are going to keep abusing him, at least keep it entertaining for us and use your powers. Just keep him relatively in one piece, Sug."

"Damnit, Char, don't tell her that. She is already kicking my ass all over this field." Peter whined as he stood up. "If she listens to you, Char, then no sex for a week."

That made me laugh. "Peter, if you are too old to take care of your wife, she can come stay in my room like last time."

Char laughed and then looked at Jasper's face. The look of shock, possessive annoyance and typical male desire made the both of us double over in laughter.

"Not again, woman, not without me." Peter groaned looking at his wife. Then he looked for me, but I had already cloaked myself. "Damnit, Bella, I hate it when you cloak yourself like that."

"That's why I do it old man." I taunted as I slowly walked over to Jasper, noticing that he watched every move that I made. I stopped in front of him and leaned up and gave him a quick kiss before moving past him to stalk Peter.

Char watched Jasper watch me and asked, "You can see her can't you?"

"Yes, I can see a muted version of her, but I can feel her emotions as well." Jasper replied. "As long as she doesn't block her emotions I doubt she will be able to hide from me easily."

"Well that's not fair. Bella, why is it that he gets to see you and I don't?" Peter grumbled.

I was about to respond when I heard Major whinny from across the field. Turning, I saw that we had gained an audience. "Damnit."

Peter looked through me and saw the Cullens standing on the far edge of the tree line. "Bells, do you want them to know about your powers?

I looked back at him even though I knew he couldn't see me. "Not really. So I'm going to come at you from behind your tree so I can go uncloak. We might as well continue our battle. We can give them a show. You up for it?"

"Are you going to try to rip me apart like you were earlier?" He asked, not turning even though he could sense me walking past him.

"Nope, I think I am about spent of that anger for now."

"Then hell yes, buttercup, let's give them a good show. Should get Major in on it too, they won't expect you to use your horse. Wait, do they know about Major yet?"

"Umm, no. I hadn't planned on telling anyone about Major, but Jasper kind of followed me earlier." I looked out at the Cullens, still standing in the tree line. "What are you thinking Peter?"

"Well, you know how you like to charge me? I was thinking you could toss me out there and then charge at me like you do, and then have Major come at us from the other side. Only Char will know what's really going on and she won't give it away." Peter laughed quietly. "If you feel the need to use a power just stick to your shield or empathy, no need to let everyone in on your amazing last power."

"Alright, I will think on the fly, you just have to be prepared for anything." I said as I darted around the edge of the tree catching Peter by the arm and running past Char and Jasper as I threw Peter in front of me.

He landed on his feet with a growl facing me. He took his stance waiting for me to attack. I stood watching the Cullens out of the corner of my eye looking for their reactions. Carlisle looked confused, Esme was worried, Rosalie looked bored and Emmett showed signs of shock as his eyes darted between Peter and me. I turned my attention back to Peter just in time to see him charge me.

Peter ran at me and caught my arm and swung me around, throwing me about a hundred yards away. My flight lasted long enough for me to start to position myself to land only to be caught by Peter before I hit the ground, well on my own at least. Peter slammed me into the ground with his hand around my throat. He grinned down at me after loosening his grip. "Shocked that I got you."

"Just wait." I grinned up at him as I flipped my legs up and caught him around the neck. The look of surprise on his face as I threw him back down to the ground was priceless. As I started to get up, he grabbed my leg and threw me again. This time I had a plan, which he learned from my shout. "Major!"

"Oh shit!" Peter cursed as he looked around to locate Major.

I stood with a smile, chuckling when I heard Rose comment that I obviously needed Jasper's help to take down Peter. Then I started to hear the hoof beats nearing me from behind. I didn't worry about it; I knew that he would veer to my right so I could grab him and swing up as he ran past me. As he drew nearer to me, I grinned at Peter. "You were the one that suggested Major be used."

Just as Major was about to veer around me, I heard Esme gasp and Emmett call out a warning. I smiled as I flung my arm out, turning the smile to Emmett as I grabbed the reins in my hand and pulled myself up as he ran past. Making a wide loop I angled back for Peter, who stood his ground even knowing that Major would run him down if directed. The only thing that stopped me was seeing Demetri step out of the trees. I pulled up short, knowing he had something important for me or he wouldn't be out here interrupting my fun.

I nodded at him and trotted around Peter to find out what news he brought. I stopped in front of him and looked down at him. I knew it wasn't going to be pleasant with the look he gave me.

"My lady." Demetri bowed.

Damn. This had Aro written all over it. "What is it Demetri?"

Straightening to his full height, he spoke loud enough for everyone to hear him. "Your father requests your presence in the throne room as there are a few urgent matters that he needs your input on. He requests that your guard attend as well as Major Whitlock and the Cullens."

I winced; although I felt no reaction to his words from the Cullens. I could only begin to imagine what Aro was up to this time. I'm sure trying to out me as his daughter like this was one of his ideas, I know Marcus would not have gone for this at all. "Thank you, Demetri."

He bowed again and whispered for my ears only before disappearing into the trees. "Le mie scuse, Bella, ho dovuto seguire le ordini del padre." (My apologies, Bella, I had to follow your father's orders.)

I watched as he darted off into the trees, heading back to the castle no doubt. Heaving a sigh, I turned Major around and looked at the three closest to me. "You heard?"

"Yeah, we heard. Aro is up to his antics again." Peter huffed.

"Cowboy, ride back with me?" I asked, hoping to get a little more alone time before Aro managed to mess everything up.

"Ma'am, it would be my pleasure." He tipped his imaginary hat at me and held out his hand.

**A/N – Well now that you have learned a bit more and seen some of what Bella is capable of, what is everyone thinking? Are we at all surprised that Aro decided to butt in and interrupt Bella's playtime? I think you will find in the next installment that Jasper has decided what he is going to call our Bella and I am quite happy with what he chooses. Just like with Darkness, if you have input on how things are going and could be better or have ideas of what you might like to see happen, review review review. It's truly what I live for.**

**Don't forget there is the FB page for updates and discussions. Just search for Bella & Jasper – Love Under a Blood Moon and you should be able to find it easily. It will be the hub for all Twilight fanfic discussions as I have Darkness as well as one shots that are in the works. If you aren't reading Darkness…I highly recommend it, lol, but I may be a bit biased.**

**Song for this chapter – Heart and Soul by Twin Atlantic**


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